The Detroit Lions have arguably the best safety duo in the NFL with Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and a recent rankings fully spelled that out.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who polled league executives, coaches and scouts, Branch and Joseph landed at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, in the annual rankings of the top safeties in the NFL.
"The one knock on him coming out [of Alabama] was coverage, but he proved all of that wrong," one scout said of Branch. "He's been excellent. Very instinctive. He was good at nickel but has more range than that."
"He has the stuff you can't teach as far as the chance-taking that helps create turnovers but doesn't hurt the framework of the defense," a different scout said of Joseph. "He's good at taking calculated risks. You've got to give him credit. He's worked hard for his opportunity."
Both Branch and Joseph made quite the leap in this year's rankings as compared to last year. Neither Branch nor Joseph made the cut in 2024, although Branch was at least an honorable mention. Joseph was totally snubbed last year.
Branch spent most of his time in the slot during his rookie campaign in 2023, but he moved to more of a traditional safety role in 2024 and still played at a high level.
Branch's Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 90.0 ranked first among safeties, while his coverage grade (70.0) ranked 32nd. The Alabama product's 77.6 overall grade ranked 17th at the position.
Meanwhile, Joseph sported the top overall (91.0) and coverage grades (91.9) at the position, and his 83.2 run defense grade was 13th. Joseph was also a turnover machine, notching nine interceptions over 17 contests.
While Branch has received his flowers over his first two years, Joseph has often been overlooked as one of the elite safeties in the NFL, so it's nice to see him getting some long overdue respect from those around the league.
If we have any gripe with these rankings, it's that Joseph should've been ranked higher, and probably over Branch. However, it's still quite the honor for both of Detroit's safeties land in the top five.