Tag: Brian Branch

Chargers’ Ja’Sir Taylor named one of NFL’s top slot defenders

Ja’Sir Taylor received high praise from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

Chargers cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor was recognized as the 11th-best slot defender by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

Here is what Farrar had to say about Taylor making the list.

Of all the slot defenders I studied to compile this list, Ja’Sir Taylor is the one with the least national name recognition. One might expect that to change for the 2022 sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest now that new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is in charge under Jim Harbaugh, who had Minter at Michigan.

Even in a weird Brandon Staley defense in 2023, Taylor proved to be quite adept in the slot. He had 207 coverage snaps in the slot last season, allowing 29 catches on 47 slot targets for 337 yards, 168 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, seven pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 74.5.

Taylor is coming off his first full season as a starter after his rookie campaign was primarily spent on special teams, with some starts towards the end of 2022, including a masterful performance against the Dolphins that year.

Taylor’s sophomore season was a mixed bag of results. While he was solid in coverage for the most part, Taylor struggled as an open-field tackler. As a result, he finished with a 29.9 tackling grade.

Entering Year 3, Taylor has the opportunity to really break out under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. He will have to fend off rookie Tarheeb Still for the starting slot corner spot.

But if he keeps his job, Taylor will provide the defense with a strong cover man with the ability to blitz.

Dan Campbell provides encouraging update on Brian Branch’s injury

Coach Dan Campbell provides an encouraging update on Brian Branch’s injury ahead of OTAs

The Detroit Lions’ 2023 draft yielded several impactful players, including Brian Branch, whose promising performance in his rookie year hinted at a bright future on the defensive side. However, when Branch was spotted in a walking boot, fans grew concerned about his health and potential impact for the upcoming season. Coach Dan Campbell addressed the situation ahead of OTAs, offering reassurance and alleviating the worries among fans.

“He had a little cleanup there. Something that, coming out of last year, thought he might heal, and then it just ended up being, ‘We better get this thing done.’ So that’s where he’s at. That and I think he likes riding scooters. But we feel like he’s progressing well. We feel like he’ll be ready to go in camp. If not, early enough it’ll be certainly he’ll get enough reps to be ready for the season. That’s how we feel right now.”

Last season, Branch emerged as one of the Lions’ standout defensive players, excelling primarily in the nickel corner role. Whether disrupting passing plays or making crucial stops against the run, he showcased versatility and toughness that became a cornerstone of the Lions’ defense. His adaptability as a defensive “swiss army knife” offers the team various options for defensive schemes, keeping opponents guessing about coverage assignments and blitz packages.

With limited changes in the safety position, it appears the Lions will rely more on Branch to fulfill additional roles, further enhancing the defensive playbook.

During Branch’s absence from OTAs due to recovery, the Lions will have the opportunity to evaluate other players for the nickel position, such as rookie Ennis Rakestraw. With a depth of options at cornerback, the team can experiment and identify potential fits for this key role, maximizing practice opportunities and roster flexibility.

Brian Branch was the top-ranked impact player among all NFL DBs in 2023

Branch made impact plays at a higher rate than any other NFL defensive back in 2023, and he was only a rookie

By now, we can all agree that the Detroit Lions got an absolute steal when they selected Brian Branch in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft. Especially after the rookie season he put together with 74 total tackles, 13 pass deflections and three interceptions.

According to Pro Football Focus, no defensive back had a higher impact percentage on defense than Branch did in 2023. He had 62 impact plays (the league high for defensive backs), and this gave him an impact play rate of 7.10% for the season.

Lions film breakdown on Brian Branch’s incredible performance against the Falcons

 

The 22-year-old defensive back led the Lions in pass deflections (13), and his seven tackles for loss were tied with Alex Anzalone for second-best on the team. Whether it be his first NFL game, where he had a pick-6 against Patrick Mahomes, or playing through injury and making leaping attempts to break up passes, Branch was a key player on defense.

Last season, he played in 15 games with nine starts, but the expectation for him now is to be an every-game starter and make even more impact plays in 2024.

Lions front office honored with ‘Best Draft Award’ at NFL Scouting Combine

Lions front office honored with ‘Best Draft Award’ at NFL Scouting Combine for their 2023 draft haul

The 2023 draft class selected by the Detroit Lions has been heralded as one of the best on this site and by many in the media. At the NFL Scouting Combine, it was honored by those within and around the league.

Brad Holmes and his staff were awarded the “Best Draft Award” for their April selections. It was a class that was seen as risky or overreaching at the time, but in the end, the results spoke for themselves. The team found themselves in the NFC Championship game after winning their first division title in over 30 years.

Holmes made several moves on day one of the draft starting with a trade back to get extra picks before landing Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell in round one. Gibbs and Campbell both showed to be leaders on their respective sides of the ball with the Alabama running back looking to become one of the best at his position sooner rather than later.

The Lions general manager then proceeded to make even ore impactful selections on day two of th draft. Between rounds two and three, he would draft the record-breaking Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, and Hendon Hooker.

LaPorta was ultized by playcaller Ben Johnson and quarterback Jared Goff all year as both a safety blanket option in the passing game but also as a game breaker when need be. Branch made his impact known from the start of the season when his pick-six against the Chiefs on the league’s opening night was just a sign of what was to come.

While Hendon Hooker din’t see the field in 2023, he is someone the franchise remains high on. Coming off a torn ACL in his final year in college, the team got what was seen as a first roudn talent in round three tht they have stashed for the future.

 

Daniel Jeremiah explains why other teams won’t copy the Lions 2023 draft model

Daniel Jeremiah explains why teams won’t copy the Lions 2023 draft model, and it’s good context to the draft haul

The Detroit Lions bucked all kinds of conventional wisdom with their draft in 2023. GM Brad Holmes selected a running back, off-ball linebacker, tight end and safety with his first four picks, all in the top 45 picks of the draft.

All four of them were big hits right away, position value be darned. The impressive yet unconventional draft haul helped propel the Lions to their first-ever NFC North title and a trip to the NFC Championship game.

Jeremiah doesn’t see other teams trying to eschew positional value to simply draft really good players anytime soon. His explanation was more about the Lions and their unusual situation created by Holmes & Co. in building to that point.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any copycat here because I think we’ve focused so much on them taking those, quote, unquote, non-value positions, but we’ve ignored the fact that when you have already built the foundation, then you can go do that,” Jeremiah said of Detroit’s strategy and foundation.

“That draft was successful because of what they did, what Brad and those
guys did previously to build up the line of scrimmage on both sides. They had the quarterback (Jared Goff) in place. They hit a home run on the wide receiver (Amon-Ra St. Brown). The expensive premium positions, they had already built the foundations. That freed them up.

It’s a huge advantage over the rest of the league where you can take the running back. Obviously a tight end hits a home run. You can take off the linebacker. You can do those things once the foundation is built. I still think personally the right thing to do is to build the foundation and then you can go do what the Lions did last year.”

Jeremiah then concluded with this,

“I’m not so certain that as great as those players were, it was awesome, that
you would have seen them flourish and shine as much as they did if they
didn’t have the quarterback in place and the offense and the defensive line in
place.”

It’s good contextualization about the Lions 2023 draft haul and why so many panned it immediately. They didn’t grasp the dynamics of the team already having the premium positions solidified enough to do what Holmes so masterfully executed.

NFL rookies played well on Championship Sunday

Some quality rookie performances on Championship Sunday are a strong indicator that the NFL is becoming more competitive.

Here’s a look at the NFL rookies who played well on Championship Sunday as we prepare for SBLVII next weekend.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing the NFL’s conference championship games

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get you ready for Ravens-Chiefs, and 49ers-Lions. It’s conference championship time!

And then, there were four! It’s time for the conference championship round of the NFL playoffs, deciding which teams will play in Super Bowl LVIII. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most interesting matchups.

Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens

  • How will Lamar Jackson deal with Steve Spagnuolo’s unconventional blitzes?
  • Can Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco take over this game, and will “pin/pull” continue to be a thing?
  • Will Mike Macdonald’s Ravens defense cause Patrick Mahomes to hesitate in his process with all those coverage disguises?
  • How will Baltimore counter the Chiefs’ effective use of heavy personnel in the run and pass games?

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

  • Jared Goff has become much more than just a game manager, so how will Steve Wilks’ 49ers defense deal with that?
  • Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has done a brilliant job coaching up a cornerback-light roster. But will that turn into a pumpkin against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense?
  • Is Brock Purdy’s bad game against the Packers in the divisional round indicative of vulnerabilities that can be exploited here?
  •  Will the Lions’ rookies on both sides of the ball be the ultimate difference in this game?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” previewing both conference championship games in detail, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Lions Rookie Report: How did Detroit’s rookie class perform against the Buccaneers?

The Lions are now on their way to San Francisco to play in their first NFC championship game since 1991 in large part to their rookie class.

It got close at the end, but the Detroit Lions are on their way to the NFC Championship. They will be facing off against the San Francisco 49ers with a win securing them their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history.

The team came this far largely due to their rookie class and how quickly they have performed. Brad Holmes and his team aced their draft process and it should go down as one of the best draft classes in franchise history. One move in particular, drafting Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall, now looks the best.

Gibbs had this as a potential breakout game. LaPorta showed no moment is too big for him. Meanwhile, Branch and Campbell showed they can make plays time and again.

Here is how they all fared in the second playoff game of their careers.

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Studs & Duds for the Lions playoff win over the Bucs

The Detroit Lions Studs and Duds for their playoff victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take them the NFC Championship game

The Detroit Lions secure another playoff triumph, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23. They are now set to face the San Francisco 49ers in the upcoming NFC Championship game.

The Lions persist in showcasing their resilience and prowess in the face of challenges, silencing skeptics who doubted their place in the playoffs. This game underscores their capability to compete at the highest level. While the offense took a while to find its rhythm, it executed crucial plays effectively when needed. The defense, although with some areas to improve, demonstrated its ability to thwart the formidable Bucs offense when it mattered most.

As they edge closer to glory, let’s highlight the Studs and Duds for the Lions in their playoff victory against the Bucs.

Baker Mayfield must calm his rogue tendencies to have a chance against the Lions

If Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers are going to beat the Lions, Mayfield will have to stay within himself as he didn’t in Week 6.

Baker Mayfield is on his fourth NFL team since 2021, which is an odd place for a former No. 1 overall NFL pick to find himself just seven seasons into his NFL career. One reason Mayfield has traveled an arduous road from the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers to the Los Angeles Rams to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the randomness of his play that can show up too often at the worst possible time. As great as Mayfield can be in the right situation with a coaching staff who can control his rogue tendencies, he’s a finely-tuned machine with a couple of oddly-placed springs, and you just have to live with it.

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales has done an outstanding job with that this season, which is a primary reason that the Bucs are in Detroit to play the Lions in the NFC divisional round. Canales has a lot

In that 20-6 Detroit win, Mayfield completed 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 56.8. It was probably his worst game of the season. Mayfield was frequently speeding up in the pocket whether he was hurried or not. He didn’t throw with good base fundamentals, and he threw off-platform more than he needed to, which led to a lot of incompletions against tight coverage. More worrisome were the incompletions in which his receivers had scalded Detroit’s defense. 

Mayfield had a wide-open shot to Trey Palmer with 2:00 left in the first half that he overthrew by a couple yards and would have been a touchdown if he’d stayed within himself. This was a deep over from the slot against Cover-4, and Palmer beat safety Kerby Joseph over the top. 

Mayfield did have defensive tackle Benito Jones pressuring him right when he threw the ball, but that’s a throw you need to make. Mayfield was pressured on 13 of his 41 dropbacks in that game, and he completed two of 10 passes for 17 yards and a sack.

This deep incompleton to receiver Chris Godwin on third-and-10 with 1:04 left in the game was one such negative example. The Lions ran a zone exchange out of Cover-4, and Mayfield was in shotgun with a 2×2 formation. The backside flat/post combination was a great design against this coverage, and Joseph was beaten again. With edge defender Julian Okwara dropping into coverage, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn sent linebacker Derek Barnes and cornerback Will Harris on an overload pressure to the other side. Harris got through, and Mayfield threw a worm-burner to his target.

For the season, Mayfield has completed 81 of 165 passes for 1,035 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 78.2. So, it’s not as if he’s a complete disaster under pressure – this game was an oddity, but it presented most of the things about Mayfield that tend to give you pause. 

It’s now time for Mayfield to silence the doubters.

“When there are plays to be had, we have to take advantage of them,” Mayfield said this week. “It’s staying consistent – they play extremely hard. It just jumps out on film, obviously [with] the way [Lions head coach] Dan Campbell runs that team – everybody swarming to the ball, playing for each other, playing extremely hard with a lot of effort at all times. They’re a tough opponent and they make it hard on you.”

Mayfield will obviously have a better chance to advance to the NFC Championship round if he can avoid making it hard on himself.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys investigate the things that those around Mayfield have done to rein things in when necessary.

You can watch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os,” featuring all the most important matchups of the divisional round, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.