The Detroit Lions have the best safety duo in the NFL, with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph both excelling. Not only is the pair good as a duo, they’re both individually elite. All safety rankings acknowledge both Joseph and Branch are two of the best safeties in the game. However, a recent ranking didn’t give them enough credit according to fellow Lions’ defensive back Amik Robertson.
PFF recently ranked the best safeties heading into the 2025 season, and both Lions safeties were in the top 10— Branch at No. 5 and Joseph at No. 6. That wasn’t good enough for Robertson, who took to social media to criticize the list, saying, “Throw the whole list away….. we got 1A and 1B (Branch and Kerby).”
Throw the whole list away….. we got 1A and 1B ( Branch and Kerby ) https://t.co/dp25WSrg1n
— Amik Robertson (@_YoungTruth7) June 6, 2025
Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph both ranked as top-10 safeties
This isn’t just a case of a player championing his teammates, a case can actually be made that Detroit’s guys deserve to be higher. Branch, who just finished his second year, is coming off the first Pro Bowl season of is career. Joseph, entering year four, is coming off the first All-Pro season of his career. Both players were day two selections for Detroit, and quickly ascended to stardom.
In 2024, Joseph caught a league-high nine interceptions, while also recording 83 tackles. Branch, on the other hand, had four interceptions, one forced fumble, a sack, and 109 tackles, with eight for a loss. Simply put, the two guys were all over the field, consistently proving their names belong with the elites.
The four guys ranked ahead of the Lions duo were Kyle Hamilton at No. 1, followed by Xavier McKinney (2), Jessie Bates III (3), and Antoine Winfield Jr. (4). With the exception of Kyle Hamilton, who is generally viewed as the top safety, a case can be made for Detroit’s guys to be ranked higher than everyone in front of them.
