Detroit’s offense looks ready to put up plenty of points again in 2024, but it’s the defense that’ll determine whether the Lions at long last reach the Super Bowl.
Brian Branch didn’t mince words on Monday night.
Branch, a standout second-year safety, was blunt in his assessment of why this secondary will be better than last year’s version
“I feel like the difference between this year and last year, shoot, this year we all have a common goal, we’re all playing off each other, we all know we’re in this together to the end,” Branch says. “Just having that mindset and chemistry this year is going to set us up.”
When asked if that wasn’t the case last year, Branch gave a clear answer before restraining himself.
“Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Most (definitely).”
Enough said.
General manager Brad Holmes must have felt similarly. Last offseason, the Lions remade the secondary by drafting Branch and signing veterans in safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and corner Cameron Sutton.
The free-agent additions proved busts. Gardner-Johnson only played three games, and although Sutton led the team by playing 98.6% of the defensive snaps, he was released this winter after being charged with domestic battery.
With both Gardner-Johnson and Sutton elsewhere, Holmes swung a trade to land veteran corner Carlton Davis III from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then, in the draft, Holmes selected Terrion Arnold in the first round before nabbing Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second.
“They don’t care who they go against, they’re some dogs,” Branch says. “That’s something coach Campbell and them, they bring in. … Having Carlton as a vet for those guys will set them up even in the long run, just teaching them tools and stuff they can put in their bag for the years to come.”
Last season, Branch came to the Lions as a second-round pick eager to make an impression. He did so, finishing fourth on the team with 50 solo tackles, alongside a team-high 13 passes defensed and seven tackles for loss, only eclipsed by star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
This season, Branch is looking to be part of the unit which helps define the team, not sink it.
In 2023, the Lions allowed more air yards (3,246) than any other team. In fact, the gap of 566 yards between Detroit and the 31st-ranked Buccaneers was larger than the gulf between the Bucs and Seattle Seahawks, who ranked 14th.
For Branch, the trio of corner additions should allow more versatility and freedom in his role, which he says will be a mixture of slot duties and safety play. That could also mean deploying Branch in unpredictable fashions.
“I can play more freely in a way,” Branch says. “(Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) can keep sending me on blitzes because we have the guys to lock down the receivers behind me. That’s a win-win right there.”
For 2024, Branch and the Lions have goals.
Branch won’t detail his personal ambitions, only saying they’re saved as a screenshot on his phone.
As for the team, it’s clear: get to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance.
To do that, the Lions must erase the memory of last season’s debacle in the NFC title game. Detroit led the San Francisco 49ers by 17 points in the third quarter, only to fall 34–31 in a crushing defeat.
For Branch, the game remains fresh motivation.
“It’s always going to be revenge,” Branch says. “Always.”
If the Lions are going to reach heights never seen in Motown during the Super Bowl era, the defensive backfield must rise up.
That starts with honesty about where the unit has been and where it wants to go.
Best thing I saw: Dan Campbell’s “Anti-Fragile” T-shirt
Look, everything about Campbell is two things: authentic and full-throttle.
When you walk around the outer rim of the Lions’ training camp facility, where fans access the walkway to reach the stands, there’s a huge “GRIT” display in four bold, team-color letters.
Campbell’s shirt, much like his fiery words and actions—such as getting in on conditional drills at times—are constant and therefore effective. It’s not a schtick, and it’s not a show.
This Lions team should take those words on Campbell’s T-shirt to heart.
Detroit can’t afford to be mentally fragile, or to look back at the past with anything other than the aforementioned mindset of revenge which Branch spoke to.
For the Lions, Campbell’s vim and vigor need to set the tone, with the players following through to the end.
