2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Brian Branch (DB – Alabama)

As the NFL season winds down, FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL draft scouting reports before the combine in March. Here’s a look at Brian Branch.

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2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Brian Branch (DB – Alabama)

Brian Branch (DB – Alabama)

6’0″ – 193 lbs.

Background:

Four-star recruit who played heavily as a freshman, totaling 290 snaps and finishing with 27 tackles, seven breakups, and two interceptions. Stepped into a starting role the following season and went 55-5.0-1.0 with nine breakups, then had an even more impressive junior campaign of 90-14.0-3.0 with two interceptions and seven breakups.

Positives:

Comes with two years of starting experience for one of college football’s premier programs. Has done a little bit of everything, but mostly drops down into the slot or plays out of the box, with relatively limited snaps as a free safety. Nice overall balance, coordination, and quickness. Shows clean footwork and weight distribution on plays in which he’s working from a high alignment. Rarely out of position. Does a nice job of keeping the play in front of him, with sufficient depth in his drops. Processes route combinations well from zone. Seamless transitions from his backpedal to driving on a spot. Uses his hands well to feel routes and stay connected through the stem. Times hits well to jar throws loose. Solid on-ball production in coverage. Works through traffic well in the screen game. Nice positioning, extension, and contact balance when taking on blocks in the run game. Maintains outside leverage to funnel. Gets physical with opposing ballcarriers, engaging with appropriate wrap technique and generating some pop on contact. Was used somewhat often as a blitzer and shows the ability to time snaps, get low and slip by blockers, and contest passing lanes.

Negatives:

Limited number of snaps taken as a free safety means he requires some imagination to project to a traditional safety role. Wasn’t asked to do too much backpedaling or play too much in high zones. Might be too small to man up on opposing tight ends. Burst to close when driving on a spot is just adequate; relies more on recognition skills and timing.

Summary:

A polished, pro-ready defensive back who seemingly does everything well, with excellent technique and diagnostic skills which should allow him to make contributions early in his pro career, he’s rightly regarded as one of the safest defensive picks in the class, although his role in college, mostly having played the “Star” nickel position in Nick Saban’s defense, didn’t involve too much high coverage, so depending on which team drafts him, there may be some projection required. As teams in the modern league play predominantly in sub packages, looks likely to be one of the first forty or so picks off the board on draft day.

Projection: Round 1-2

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