Lions player is already considered one of the best in the league at his position despite limited starts
ESPN continued their positional rankings with NFL execs on Thursday with their safety rankings. We'll be honest, we didn't think the Lions would be included in the mix. Not that we don't think the Lions have good safeties, we just didn't think the execs would think that. No Lions made the actual top 10 list, but […]
ESPN continued their positional rankings with NFL execs on Thursday with their safety rankings. We'll be honest, we didn't think the Lions would be included in the mix. Not that we don't think the Lions have good safeties, we just didn't think the execs would think that.
No Lions made the actual top 10 list, but Brian Branch did make the honorable mention. Here's what they had to say:
"Branch had a standout rookie season; he recorded 74 tackles and three interceptions. "Has natural coverage ability so that allows him to play in the slot or over the top. He's also an instinctive player that has a knack for finding the ball and making plays in both phases," an NFC personnel evaluator said."
Branch didn't play a lot of safety in his rookie year, but he's expected to be a starting safety this season with the Lions' overhaul at cornerback. He was the top safety in the nation when he was at Alabama in 2022 and his versatility has long been one of his top traits. We'll see if he's able to seamlessly make this switch this season and maybe he finds himself in the top 10 next year.
The other player that got featured in the "also receiving votes" section is what we're really talking about today. It was not the player we expected to see. You would think it would be Kerby Joseph after two decent seasons, but It was Ifeatu Melifonwu.
There were no quotes to share, but it was very interesting considering the sample size is so small. Melifonwu only has 11 career starts in three seasons. He spent much of the 2023 season coming off the bench before starting the final six games of the year and all three playoff games.
Melifonwu had only played 103 defensive snaps all season before the Lions put him in the starting lineup in Week 14. That's why it was so shocking to see him take to things like a fish in water.
Melifonwu took over in those six games and changed the course of most of them. He had two interceptions, a forced fumble and three sacks. He just perfectly fit what the Lions needed at that time and the defense got so much better with him in the lineup. Then he added three more sacks in the playoffs.
Obviously the biggest moment for Melifonwu came when he picked off Nick Mullens in Week 16 and helped the Lions clinch their first division title since 1993.
The interesting thing is that, with Branch moving back to safety this season, most have Melifonwu pegged as the guy that goes to the bench with Joseph taking up the other safety spot. There would, of course, be a rotation the Lions would work with, but Melifonwu isn't believed to be a starter at the moment.
Perhaps he can go out and have a big training camp this August and earn the spot over Joseph and we'll continue to see his big-time play develop. Suddenly the Lions secondary has some good problems with trying to find out who their starter is.
Final Detroit Lions 53-man roster, depth chart and practice squad projection ahead of training camp
The Detroit Lions will be beginning training camp on Wednesday. The 2024 season is just about upon us. Before we head into camp and find out what the actual roster is going to look like at the end of August, we're going to make our pre-camp prediction on the roster, depth chart and the practice […]
