For a second straight year, the Lions and Packers made a second-round trade. After the Packers moved up last year, the Lions did so Friday. Detroit traded Nos. 48 and 159 to Green Bay.
With the pick, the Lions chose Alabama defensive back Brian Branch. A popular name on the pre-draft interview circuit, Branch stands to give Detroit interesting options. He worked as a safety and slot cornerback with the Crimson Tide. Considering the Lions signed safety/corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson, suddenly Aaron Glenn‘s defense brings intriguing versatility.
Branch filled the stat sheet in his final season, racking up 90 tackles (including 14 for loss), three sacks, a pair of interceptions and seven pass breakups. That allowed him to stand out from an otherwise underwhelming safety class and led many to expect he would be selected on Thursday.
Instead, his wait ultimately led to him the Motor City and a new-look secondary. It will certainly be interesting to see how he is used in 2023 in particular, with Gardner-Johnson having signed only a one-year pact. He and Branch have similar skill sets and could compete for playing time at multiple spots as the Lions look to take a needed step forward on defense next season.
Detroit and Green Bay swapped spots in the move that allowed the Packers to select wideout Christian Watson in 2022. Now, their roles have been reversed in a deal seeing the Lions add what they hope will be a long-term mainstay on their back end. Even with the trade-up, Detroit has another Day 2 picked scheduled at No. 55 overall.
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