Someone close to Lions safety Kerby Joseph called ESPN to ask why he wasn't ranked top 10 in 2024

The Detroit Lions have the best safety duo in the NFL. There is no doubt about that. Especially after Thursday, when ESPN got NFL executives and scouts together to rank the top 10 safeties in the league, and only one team had two guys in that top 10. Not only that, they have two in the top five. Brian Branch came in at two, and Kerby Joseph came in at five. 

This is quite the shift from last year when Branch wasn't even ranked. He was in the honorary mention section, and Joseph wasn't on the list at all. Speaking of the latter, apparently, someone close to Joseph called ESPN to figure out why, according to NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler. 

"Last summer, the top 10 received a call from someone close to Joseph inquiring about why he did not receive a single vote in the 2024 safety pool."

It's a fair question. There's no doubt that Joseph was better in 2024, but he was still really good in 2023 and helped clean up for a really bad cornerback room that was getting beat up weekly. He deserved to at least be on the honorable mention.

Joseph must have taken that personally, Michael Jordan style, because he went out and had an insane season that saw him lead the league in interceptions, allowed a 29.2 passer rating, became a first-team All-Pro, and the highest-paid safety in the league. Not bad at all. 

He really made the execs and scouts who make the ranking take notice this time around, and that got him a spot on the list. 

"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," an NFC scout said. "He's good at taking calculated risks. You've got to give him credit. He's worked hard for his opportunity."