Exit interviews: From roster strength to question mark, Detroit Lions outlook at safety far less certain than a year ago
Wrapping up the Detroit Lions’ 2025 season, we’re doing our annual position-by-position evaluation of the roster. Today, we’ll focus on the play of the team’s safeties.
The straightforward stats
Brian Branch: 12 starts, 747 snaps, 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine pass defenses, one forced fumble
Kerby Joseph: 316 snaps, 18 tackles, four pass defenses, three interceptions
Thomas Harper: 483 snaps, 37 tackles, five pass defenses, one interception
Avonte Maddox: 14 games (three starts), 342 snaps, 32 tackles, four pass defenses, one interception, one forced fumble
Erick Hallett: 119 snaps, 18 tackles, one pass defense
Daniel Thomas: 111 snaps, 23 tackles, one pass defense
Advanced metrics
Even prior to the injury, Detroit was playing its safeties in more clearly defined roles compared to the previous season.
In 2024, Branch and Joseph were more interchangeable in their free and box alignments. Last season, Branch continued to be a chess piece, moving all around the secondary, while Joseph, as well as injury replacements Maddox and Harper, all spent far more of their reps patrolling deeper parts of the field.
That meant that the limited blitz opportunities from the position group belonged to Branch. He was sent after the quarterback 19 times in 12 games, generating seven pressures on those plays. The only other safety with more than two blitz attempts was Erick Hallett. He had six in two games before he was poached off Detroit’s practice squad by Tennessee late in the year.
In terms of man-to-man coverage, the Lions continued to lean on Branch with positive results, at least before his season-ending Achilles injury. Opponents didn’t bother testing him as much as in previous seasons, with the targets dipping from 40 to 21. On those throws, he allowed just nine catches for 128 yards, although three went for touchdowns.