Detroit Lions Brian Branch may become Brad Holmes’ best draft pick

Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch could end up being the best draft pick made by general manager Brad Holmes.

Appearing on the “With The First Pick” podcast, Lions special assistant Chris Spielman levied very high praise for the former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back.

“With Brian, all you had to do was watch the film. The dude was maybe one of the best tacklers that I’ve seen. If a guy did catch a ball, he’d eliminate yards after catch. His coverage, his movement skills, his instincts were off the charts,” said Spielman. “Just a great football player, so nobody cared what he ran. We just knew what we saw against the best competition that was out there, the SEC playing against some of those receivers.

“He played nickel, he can play safety, he can play corner. I really think that might go down, now I could be wrong, but that might go down as one of Brad’s best Draft picks if you start evaluating. Obviously he’s had some good ones.”

Defensive assistant Jim O’Neil shared this week the coaching staff plans to be ‘more aggressive’ with the 2023 second-round pick in 2024.

“The nickel position is one of the hardest positions to play in the NFL on the defensive side of the ball, just because you’ve got to cover like a corner, you’ve gotta fit the run like a linebacker and you’ve got to communicate and do multiple jobs like a safety,” said O’Neil. “So I think last year they were a little more hesitant with B.B. to just kind of fix him at one spot, whereas now that he’s going into year two, I think we’ll be more aggressive with him. He’s the type of player you want to see out there on all three downs. So we’re gonna push him to that, but at the end of the day he’s still got to come out in training camp and he’s got to take that job.”  

In his rookie campaign, the 22-year-old showcased a vast skillset. His talents include working in coverage, blitzing and being stout against the run.

“I think he can be really good,” said O’Neil. “I think he can be one of the better ones in the league. Coming off the rookie campaign that he just had. Some of the things he did coverage-wise, some of the things he did run-fit-wise, blitz-wise. I’m excited about him. I’m really excited about him.” 

Training camp will provide an opportunity to observe how Branch adapts to potentially playing both safety and the nickel cornerback position.

An offseason surgery prevented Branch from participating in offseason workouts. In his sophomore campaign, an expanded role and success playing multiple positions would allow Glenn more ammunition to successfully run his defensive scheme.

“I think it’s just learning. He’s had an awesome offseason in the classroom. We’ve forced him to over-communicate with us as a secondary group and as coaches,” O’Neil said. “So now he’s just got to be able to take it to the grass, which in the role he had last year, I thought he played really well as a rookie.

“Now it’s that, can he make that next jump as a second-year player and can he make that next jump maybe  just being fixed as a safety, or maybe being a safety and a nickel. That’s all things we’re gonna find out in training camp.”