Could Lions' Brian Branch be the next Sauce Gardner?
Ok, here's the thing. Detroit Lions rookie Brian Branch had a phenomenal game on Sunday. The game was so good that I decided to tweet this. The intention of this tweet was to say that Brian Branch should be the next rookie defensive back to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and get All-Pro honors […]
Ok, here's the thing. Detroit Lions rookie Brian Branch had a phenomenal game on Sunday. The game was so good that I decided to tweet this.
The intention of this tweet was to say that Brian Branch should be the next rookie defensive back to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and get All-Pro honors like New York Jets corner Sauce Gardner. Then everyone wanted to say "dude they play different positions" or "Sauce is different because he's lock down" and all this. So I decided that the only thing I could really do was have a full on comparison article.
Right out of the gate, there's this idea that these two can't be compared because they play different positions. That's not the totally the case. They both play cornerback, but they play a different type of cornerback. Branch is a nickel and Gardner is an outside corner.
I'll concede that Gardner played more snaps at his position. But its' not by much. Gardner played 186 snaps in his first three games and Branch has played 160. So not a ton more. Just 26 more.
Look, we can all talk about the intricacies of these two positions, but the basic premise to not let the guy in front of you catch the ball.
Through three games, Branch looks to be following in Gardner's footsteps with a very good start to his career. On Sunday he had a monster day and became the first defensive back in NFL history to record 11 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two pass breakups in one game.
I think it's time for the comparison. Let's take a look at Sauces first three games vs Branch's first three games and see if Branch is on pace to have a similar year to Gardner's 2022.
| Stats | Brian Branch | Sauce Gardner |
|---|---|---|
Tackles | 18 | 10 |
Tackles for loss | 3 | 1 |
Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
Passes Defensed | 3 | 4 |
Targets | 17 | 12 |
Receptions allowed | 11 | 7 |
Yards Allowed | 79 | 92 |
Touchdowns allowed | 2 | 1 |
You can see that there's a lot of comparable stats there. Branch has allowed fewer yards, has more tackles for loss and more interceptions. Gardner allowed fewer touchdowns, fewer receptions and fewer touchdowns. Everything is otherwise in the same ball park.
There's still 14 games left and Branch has more work to do, but he's clearly right there with Gardner and has been having an amazing start to his career. Let's revisit this at the end of the season and see where things are at.
For fun, let's compare Gardner's results from this season to Branch and see where things are at.
| Stats | Brian Branch | Sauce Gardner |
|---|---|---|
Snaps | 160 | 223 |
Tackles | 18 | 12 |
Tackles for loss | 3 | 0 |
Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
Passes Defensed | 3 | 1 |
Targets | 17 | 15 |
Receptions allowed | 11 | 12 |
Yards allowed | 79 | 119 |
Touchdowns | 2 | 1 |
There's a lot of comparable things there. The Jets have clearly opened Gardner up a lot more with the snaps. That'll come for Branch in time as well. Let's have fun and follow up on this at the end of the season as well.
What we can definitely say today is that some of the football fans that scoffed at this idea on Sunday are in for a bit of surprise. Branch is for real.
Lions vs Falcons: What Just Happened? Immediate reactions
The Lions went out there played one hell of a game in their 20-6 win over the Falcons. You could not have asked for a better defensive showing. The offense stumbled a bit, but they got it done when needed. As always, I have thoughts on this game, these are those thoughts: You wanted defense, […]
