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Brian Branch started at the star position during his final season at Alabama and was touted as the top safety available in the 2023 NFL Draft. But after being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round, Branch got virtually all his playing time as a rookie at slot corner.
Detroit defensive assistant Jim O’Neil said the Lions preferred “to fix him at one spot” in his first season, but he expected Branch to branch out in the secondary in 2024.
“Now that he’s going into Year 2, I think we’ll be more aggressive with him,” O’Neil said during Detroit’s mandatory minicamp. “He’s the type of player you want to see out there on all three downs, so we’re going to push him to that. But at the end of the day, he still has to come out in training camp, and he’s got to take that job.”
In 15 regular-season games, Branch recorded 74 tackles, three interceptions, 13 passes defended, seven tackles for loss and one forced fumble as a rookie. He finished tied for fifth in the voting for The Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, which was won by former Alabama teammate Will Anderson Jr., a defensive end for the Houston Texans.
Branch made 20 tackles, recorded three tackles for loss and broke up one pass during the Lions’ three postseason games as Detroit reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 campaign.
