It's truly not surprising, but Brian Branch is doing just fine with his move to safety.
Talk of moving Brian Branch to safety existed virtually all offseason for the Detroit Lions, and the moves made to add cornerback depth paved the path to that position change. Still, it was easy to wonder about the wisdom of moving Branch off the nickel corner role he was so excellent in as a rookie last season (74 total tackles, 13 pass breakups, seven tackles for loss, three interceptions, Pro Football Focus' No.14-ranked cornerback).
In a broader sense though, tapping into the versatility Branch showed in college at Alabama is a good idea and it was clear the Lions wanted to do that in his second season.
Through two games this season, as professed as possible alongside his move to playing safety, Branch has literally never come off the field for the Lions' defense, playing all 126 snaps. He has 13 total tackles, a tackle for loss, five pass breakups and an interception thus far, as he continues to line up all over the field even with a noted tilt toward playing free safety (50 snaps through two games). After some near misses and a couple missed tackles in Week 1, he was noticeably better in Week 2. Some adjustment to a new role is to be expected.
Brian Branch is doing just fine in his move to safety
Through Week 2, Branch's aforementioned five pass breakups lead the league. Pro Football Focus also had him in a multi-way tie for the league lead with four forced incompletions through Week 2. That's two ways of basically saying the same thing.
Branch will never be pigeonholed into strictly playing a traditional safety spot, since he's such a chess piece in Aaron Glenn's defense. But seeing more time playing single-high safety puts him position to make plays he otherwise might not be able to as mostly a slot corner. With his knack for being around the ball in all capacities, regardless of where he lines up, Branch is someone opposing offenses have to account for at all times.
