NotesL D.J. Reed thrilled to be playing with 2 elite Lions safeties

Lions’ cornerback D.J. Reed went to Twitter to tell people how excited he is to be playing with safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.

Detroit Lions ’ cornerback D.J. Reed is no stranger to playing in a talented secondary. Originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2018, Reed spent two years in Seattle, and the last three seasons of his career with the New York Jets .

Reed now joins a talented and young secondary in Detroit, and judging by a few recent tweets—it’s safe to say he is pretty excited to be a Lion.

If you’re a veteran defensive back like Reed, playing with a safety tandem like First Team All-pro Kerby Joseph, and Pro Bowler Brian Branch has to be as good as it gets. Especially with the way that the young duo complements one another in Detroit’s secondary.

With Joseph, you have the classic free safety. He is a terrific athlete with incredible range, making him a natural at playing that centerfield position on the back end. Since entering the league in 2022, Joseph’s tracking and ball skills have been on full display, culminating with him grabbing nine interceptions in 2024. On top of the turnovers, his man-coverage and tackling abilities have steadily improved over his young career, too.

Next to Joseph is another really special player in Branch. He started as a true freshman for legendary coach Nick Saban at the University of Alabama, and somehow fell out of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft . Since then, he has spent time making sure the rest of the league knows they made a mistake on him. An extremely versatile chess piece for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, Branch can cover inside or out on an island, play in the box against the run—anything you need him to do. To put it bluntly, it won’t be long for Branch to garner his first All-Pro.

We get it, Reed. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves about Joseph and Branch being Lions, too.

And now, onto the rest of today’s notes:

• I wonder what these rankings will look like after the 2025 NFL season?

• Jon Macri of PFF lists Lions’ cornerback Terrion Arnold as a breakout candidate for 2025 .

• Lions’ rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa joining his hometown team is something out of an early 2000’s sports movie. Tim Twentyman has more on the full-circle moment for the Hudsonville native.

• The Lions shared some pictures from their rookie minicamp.

• I don’t care much for fantasy football but I shall use this platform of mine to begin pushing my narrative that Lions’ running back Jahmyr Gibbs is the best running back in the NFL.

• Lions’ receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown watching the best team in the MLB.