Eagles draft: Breaking down the 2023 safety class led by Alabama’s Brian Branch

A major area of strength last season, the Eagles’ safety room will have significant turnover in 2023 following the departures of starters C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps.

After rolling out a combination of Gardner-Johnson (now with the Detroit Lions), Epps (Las Vegas Raiders), and undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship last season, the Eagles recently added two more players to the room in former Pittsburgh Steeler Terrell Edmunds and former New Orleans Saint Justin Evans.

With both on one-year deals with the Eagles, the Birds still don’t have long-term answers at the position. The 2023 draft class features several nickel back prospects with skill sets that could translate to playing safety. There are also several safeties who don’t have great athletic measurables but possess desirable instincts and physicality.

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Just one safety is projected to come off the board this year in the first round, but with plenty of options on Days 2 and 3 of the draft, the Eagles could look to add a difference-maker to bolster the future of the back end of their defense. Here’s a look at some safety prospects who could intrigue the Birds come April’s draft.

Pound for pound, Alabama hybrid defensive back Brian Branch may be one of the 10 best players in this year’s draft. Although he possesses a wiry frame (6-foot, 190) with just under 31-inch arms, Branch, primarily playing the nickel position for the Crimson Tide, made plays in zone and man coverages. He also proved a nuisance to opposing offenses as a blitzer, disrupting run plays and getting after the quarterback for sacks (three).

Branch specifically excels in undercutting routes in man coverage while showing the spatial awareness to get into passing lanes from his zone drops. His role at the NFL level isn’t exactly clear, but he has the baseline to be an excellent nickel corner with the instincts, physicality, and ball skills to play safety.

Like Branch, Antonio Johnson spent most of his career as a nickel, but rotated frequently to play in the deep thirds and halves of the field at Texas A&M. A larger player (6-2, 198), Johnson is at his best attacking downhill toward the line of scrimmage, being an active run defender, and blowing up screens on the perimeter. Although not blessed with the speed to keep up with shiftier slot receivers, Johnson has upside as a tight-end eraser, using his physicality and frame to make life tough across the middle of the field.

Projecting more as a big nickel or a low-hole safety, Johnson has a more clearly defined role at the next level as a player who will thrive in the short and intermediate levels of the field. If the Eagles are looking to add a more physical presence to their safety room, Johnson would be a nice addition on Day 2 of the draft.

While the aforementioned prospects are more projections than realities as safeties, Georgia’s Christopher Smith is one of the few prospects in this class who handled single-high responsibilities at a high level. Although his athletic testing was poor, Smith covers so much ground from depth, possessing the instincts and range you can rely on at the back end. Putting forth a career year in 2022 (61 tackles, three interceptions), Smith isn’t a natural speed player but anticipates route combinations well and takes excellent angles defending the run.

The athletic testing may be concerning but Smith’s tape shows a number of times where the Bulldogs safety is breaking on the football before the ball is thrown. He’s not an ideal candidate to be in man coverage against explosive players, and fits best as a free-roamer in the secondary covering the deep halves or thirds.

The Lackawanna Community College to Penn State pipeline, which began with Jaquan Brisker, is alive and well with Ji’Ayir Brown. With Penn State, Brown logged 10 interceptions in two seasons and showcased impressive range in coverage to attack the football from single-high and two-high safety alignments.

Another player who didn’t test particularly well, Brown has natural instincts in coverage with the ability to shed blocks as a blitzer to get home for sacks. While he’s not always the most sound tackler in space, the fifth-year senior flies downhill and is an active and willing participant in run defense, with ball production to be a force for an NFL defense.

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One half of Illinois’ outstanding twin pairing with his brother Chase, safety Sydney Brown is a physical specimen who was a physical, imposing presence on a dominant defense that could have three top 100 picks out of its secondary. Brown, who made a living with the Illini as a low-hole safety who thrived near the line of scrimmage, put together a complete 2022 season. He undercut crossing routes and intermediate concepts for six interceptions, and thumped running backs and receivers in the box and on the perimeter.

While his tackling in space must be more consistent, along with his tight hips moving laterally in deeper areas of the field, Brown is compactly built (5-10, 211) to withstand the physicality that comes with playing near the box, and possesses the versatility to cover tight ends in man coverage.

Florida State safety/nickel Jammie Robinson is one of the best tacklers in this year’s safety class. He thrives attacking downhill in the run game and is competitive at the catch point. Aligning as a nickel and low-hole safety for the Seminoles after transferring from South Carolina, Robinson became the first FSU defensive player to earn first-team All-ACC honors in consecutive seasons since Jalen Ramsey did it in 2014 and 2015.

Robinson’s nose for the football, instincts to close space and break on routes, plus his knowledge of multiple positions will aid him in finding a role at the next level. Athleticism concerns linger, but Robinson always finds a way to make impact plays from a variety of positions.

One of my favorite prospects in this class, Illini nickel Jartavius “Quan” Martin was arguably the second-best player in his own secondary in 2022. After blowing up the scouting combine with his athletic ability (4.46-second 40-yard dash, 44-inch vertical), Martin is a second-day draft candidate who can wear several hats for a defense, playing as a nickel corner or converting to safety full-time with his range and speed.

A smooth player in and out of his breaks, Martin has a similar skill set to Daxton Hill, a first-round pick by Cincinnati last year.ormer Michigan standout and 2022 first-round pick Daxton Hill. Martin tackles well in space, and can cover shiftier slot receivers on deeper routes, showcasing his ability to turn and find the football in the air. If there was a player worth taking in the third round who could develop into a high-end safety, Martin is the best bet.

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