The Lions may have just found Brian Branch’s new running mate and possible Kerby Joseph replacement in a rookie nobody expected to play safety
Keith Abney was drafted as a cornerback, but his first extended look at free safety against Arizona may have given Detroit an unexpected answer next to the returning Brian Branch.
The Detroit Lions’ secondary is going to look wildly different when they come back against the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. I’m not talking about a trade at cornerback. Maybe that happens, maybe it doesn’t. This is about the safety position and one rookie who may have just changed how the Lions think about it.
For the last few years, Detroit has had one of the best setups at safety in the NFL. Brian Branch played strong safety and Kerby Joseph played free safety. At one point, both were Pro Bowlers, and Joseph was an All-Pro. It felt like the best safety duo in the league.
Then Joseph’s knee issue started lingering. We wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, and to be clear, we aren’t reporting anything or claiming inside information. Right now, though, it feels like this might be it for Joseph, and at this point, nobody really knows when we’ll see him again. I hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Brian Branch is close, but who plays next to him?
Branch tore his Achilles in December of last season against the Dallas Cowboys. Now he appears to be on the doorstep. Lions coach Dan Campbell hinted this week that Branch should be back to play against Green Bay in Week 7.
That’s great news for Detroit. The issue is that Branch’s counterpart has always been Joseph, and nobody knows if that pairing is coming back. So who plays next to Branch?
I think we have an idea. At least it’s an idea we can go on right now. His name is Keith Abney.
Keith Abney made his case at free safety
The Lions drafted Abney in the fifth round of this year’s draft with the intention of making him a slot corner. He hadn’t played much before this week. His only defensive action was 25 snaps against the New Orleans Saints. From Weeks 2-4, he mostly played special teams, and he was inactive for two of those games.
This week was different. Abney played free safety the entire game, logging 49 snaps there, with 10 snaps spent in the box. He played really well.
Per Pro Football Focus, Abney finished with a 68.6 overall grade, a 72.1 run defense grade, an 84.4 tackling grade, and a 62.9 coverage grade. He allowed three catches for 25 yards on four targets and held opposing quarterbacks to a 51 passer rating. He also picked off his first career pass.
Now look at what’s around him. Chuck Clark had a rough night. Avonte Maddox is out. Christian Izien is better suited as a nickelback in that slot area. Roger McCreary is working all over the place right now. I thought McCreary had a pretty decent game, but Detroit probably doesn’t want him playing 73 snaps every week if it can be avoided.
So I’m looking at all of this and thinking Abney might be that other safety. At this point, it just makes sense.
Why Branch and Abney could work together
A safety duo of Branch and Abney works because Abney can hawk the ball. That was something he was known for at Arizona State. The Lions drafted him with the idea that he could play in the slot, even though most of his college work came outside. He’s a smaller player than Joseph. Not by a whole lot, but by enough.
That’s where Branch comes in. Branch can come back and do what Branch does, which is play everywhere. Meanwhile, Abney, who I’ve been calling diet Brian Branch for the last few weeks, can do a lot of the same things. Maybe not as well, but he can do them.
It makes you wonder if this is what the Lions’ future at safety looks like. We need to see a lot more of it, and nobody should make that judgment off one game. Still, it was the first thing that came to mind after this one ended. What can Detroit do with Abney and Branch back there together?
Maybe Joseph comes back at some point. Maybe he returns at the end of the year. I don’t know. Right now, though, I’m looking at Branch and Abney and thinking this could be something.
If I were the Lions, I would start Branch and Abney against the Packers and see what you get. We’ll see where it goes.
Detroit Lions News