NFL Prospects Modeling Their Game After Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph

Why draft prospects are learning from, playing like Lions' safety duo.

Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31), left, and safety Brian Branch (32). | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Thursday, the NFL Combine rolled on as defensive backs took center stage with the media.

With questions rolling in about who prospects model their game after, many of the safeties cited Detroit’s dominant duo of Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph as some of the players they model their game after most.

Nebraska’s Deshon Singleton also listed his ideal secondary that he could start alongside, and it saw him and Branch paired at safety with Jaycee Horn and Pat Surtain II at cornerback. When asked about what it would be like to play with Branch, Singleton was quick to add that he would love to play with both Branch and Joseph.

“It would be great (to play alongside him),” Singleton said. “Because I obviously watch his game, and his game is probably one of my favorite that I watch film on. It would be great playing alongside him and Kerby (Joseph).”

Arizona’s Dalton Johnson was quick to compliment Kerby Joseph’s playstyle, then mentioning Branch. Johnson believes the Lions have some of the best scheme fits for him in the NFL.

“I love the way Kerby Joseph plays, him and Brian Branch, the Lions’ defense, they clash together really well,” Dalton Johnson said.

Keionte Scott reflected similarly, with the playmaker for the National Title runner-up Hurricanes calling it meaningful to play with him hypothetically.

“Brian Branch is a guy I watched a lot of on tape, definitely a guy that is very versatile, plays the game the right way,” Scott said. “It would be meaningful to get out there and play with them.

Caleb Downs, the top safety prospect in the NFL Draft, listed Brian Branch first when asked to list the top safeties currently in the league, before discussing watching film on Branch.

“No order? I will probably leave someone out. I like watching a lot of safeties, so I will go Brian Branch, I like his game a lot,” Downs revealed.

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Who fits with Detroit?

In an ideal world, a player such as Downs would be available when the Lions come calling. However, based on their draft strategy and visits that have taken place throughout the week, the top three safeties of Downs, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and Dillon Thieneman are likely not being discussed much.

However, some names to watch include Texas’s Michael Taaffe, a coverage star with a walk-on background with the Longhorns. Per Taaffe at the Combine, he met with a few of the Lions coaches and scouts informally during the process. Other meetings at the NFL Combine include Deshon Singleton, Dalton Johnson, and Oklahoma’s Robert Spears-Jennings. Spears-Jennings specifically mentioned meeting with Jim O’Neil, the Lions’ safety coach and associate head coach.

Formally, the Lions have shown interest in TCU’s Bud Clark at the Combine. Clark getting a formal visit is a massive key, alongside Detroit showing interest in a number of safeties during this NFL Draft cycle.

 The difference between formal and informal meetings is that teams are only allowed 45 formal meetings per Combine, which take about 20 minutes with team personnel. Informal has no limit, but there is less time in discussion with the players.

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