The Cincinnati Bengals don’t figure to seek out a safety early in the 2023 NFL draft as they did one year ago with Dax Hill despite the losses of Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates.
Still, the Bengals have been mentioned alongside a name like Alabama’s Brian Branch, a suggested fit courtesy of ESPN’s Matt Miller:
Miller: Alabama defensive back Brian Branch didn’t help his stock with a 4.58-second run in the 40-yard dash at the combine, but scouts I spoke to this week believe he’s still the best safety in the class and a firm Round 1 talent. “He’ll fall a little because of the speed like Kyle Hamilton did [in 2022], but he’s too smart and too versatile to fall far,” is how one AFC scout put it. Branch was a leader for the Alabama defense and had 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and 7 pass breakups in 2022. Teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Bills and Eagles all make sense from a value and need standpoint.
Adding a draft’s top safety, who NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared to Minkah Fitzpatrick, is pretty hard to complain about no matter where it happens.
Adding Branch to Hill, Nick Scott and other defensive backs would give coordinator Lou Anarumo a trove of weapons to deploy, improving the unit.
And while it’s not a direct need, this is the sort of value move enabled by already adding names at offensive line, safety, cornerback and tight end in free agency.
