When Brian Branch fell to the 2nd round of the 2023 NFL Draft, it was somewhat surprising. It felt like Branch was the top safety in the class and when you watched his tape, he looked like a first-round talent. Somehow, some way, the Lions were able to move up and down the draft board and still land Branch with the 45th overall pick.
Throughout three games this season, he’s been the Lions best rookie and one of their most consistent defensive players. Prior to the Lions week three match-up, I had mentioned that the Lions defense needed to start finding ways to help Aidan Hutchinson.
This past week, they did just that.
Brian Branch was a huge part of that due to his ability to attack downhill and play tight coverage on a consistent basis. Against the Falcons, Branch led the way with 11 solo tackles, three tackles for loss and two pass deflections. Branch made a statement that was much needed. Let’s jump into the film and see the statement made by talented rookie out of Alabama!
Starting with the play that was heard and seen from around the world, we go to the hit on Bijan Robinson. On the play above, the Falcons come out in a 2×2 set that has two in-breaking routes from the left side of the formation and an out-breaking route to the right of the formation.
This is designed to force the defense to flow to their left and in the process, Robinson (Falcons RB 7) slips out of the backfield as a check down. Sometimes, it leaves the running back in space with one or two defenders but once Desmond Ridder (Falcons QB 9) starts running out of the pocket, it forces defenders to stay home much quicker.
As the Lions show a Cover 3 look on defense, you can see Branch (Lions DB 32) get to his curl-to-flats drop in coverage. Once the ball is thrown to Robinson, you’ll see how quickly Branch attacks downhill and closes to Robinson in the flats.
There’s no hesitation from Branch and in the process, he delivers an absolute shot to the running back. Certainly, Branch gets flagged for the hit but Branch made it clear in his post-game interview that he’s there to set the tone and he wants people to know that he can tackle.
No doubt about it, Branch can tackle and he may have been the best tackler in the 2023 NFL Draft class. Going to another example of how good of a tackler Branch can be, we’ll go to the play above.
The Falcons come out in another 2×2 set and prior to the snap, they put Kyle Pitts (TE 8) in orbit motion. Once the ball is snapped, Ridder fakes the hand-off to Robinson and quickly flips his hips to Pitts and throws to him on the swing pass.
Covering the slot receiver on the bottom of the screen, you’ll see Branch read and react quickly. While the slot receiver attempts to block him, you’ll notice how Branch drops his shoulder and rips through the hands of the slot receiver. Without hesitation, he continues to fly up field and brings Pitts down by tackling him at the ankles.
Moving onto another great tackle, we’ll go to one of the better form tackles that you’ll see from a defender. On the play above, the Falcons come out in 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) and are looking to run some type of zone run.
Before the running back can even make a decision to try and cut back, Branch is already in the backfield for a huge tackle-for-loss. He makes a tremendous read into the B-gap and is able to lower his center of gravity while getting lateral to the backfield.
In the process, Branch shows great form on his tackle. His shoulder hits the hip of the running back, he shoots his hands to the back of the thighs, and he drives the ball carrier to the ground. As I labeled it on Twitter, it was chef’s kiss. Once Branch starts to cook, let him cook!
It’s not just the tackling ability from Branch that is impressive. It’s his effort in his coverage drops, his positioning and ability to go up and make a play on the football. The play above showcases just that against the Falcons, who are aligned in 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends).
Prior to the snap, the quarterback puts one tight end in motion to the line of scrimmage, and you can see Branch follow that. Post-snap, the Lions secondary runs another Cover 3 look on defense.
Despite being aligned over the tight ends, you can see how quickly Branch retreats and recovers in his curl-to-flats drop. Once the ball is in the air, Branch does everything he can to jump in the air and get a finger or two on the ball to deflect the pass.
Staying with the coverage ability of Branch, we’ll see another 2×2 set from the Falcons offense. Aligned in the slot at the top of the screen, you’ll see Branch matched up with Drake London (Falcons WR 5). Once the ball is snapped, London attempts to run a simple slant route to the middle of the field.
However, that simple route becomes much more difficult due to fluidity and positioning from Branch. This allows him to be in the hip pocket of London with ease. Once the ball is thrown, you’ll see Branch make a play on the football and break the pass up. This is one of the two pass deflections we saw from Branch on Sunday against the Falcons.
Lastly, the play I want to focus on is the Falcons coming out in an empty set down in the red zone. Covering the slot receiver at the bottom of the screen, you’ll see Branch once again in tight coverage on this out route. There are a couple of keys to this play.
For starters, Branch shows great fluidity with his lower half and it allows him to stay in phase with the receiver during the entirety of the route. Meanwhile, he attempts to play through the hands of the receiver, but once the pass is secured, he makes a sure tackle in-bounds on 3rd down during the closing minutes of the 4th quarter.
Overall, this was a nice bounce-back performance for the Lions defense. Most importantly, this was a huge performance for Brian Branch. It was great seeing the pick-six he had against Patrick Mahomes in Week 1, but the way he played against the Falcons is the way he can play on a weekly basis for this Lions defense. He played fast, physical and he set the tone with every single tackle he made.
So far this season, Branch has been one of the top-graded defenders on the Lions defense with a 74.2 overall grade. There will be hiccups during his rookie season, I’m sure. But with the Green Bay Packers on the schedule for this shortened week, I’d look for Branch to make another impact during the Lions week four match-up in Lambeau Field.
