As the Detroit Lions inch closer to the regular season, it becomes clearer and clearer that they project defensive back Brian Branch in an increasingly large safety role. Branch played almost exclusively in the nickel last year, and even though coach Dan Campbell knows the 2023 second-round pick thrives at that position, he thinks Branch may be able to do the team even more good with an increased usage at safety.
“You can make a lot of plays at the nickel and produce in this defense,” Campbell said, “but safety is, I mean you’re talking about—you got a lot of freedom within the structure, within the system to really—I mean you talk about making plays, you can make some plays there.