A rookie defensive back from Alabama, Brian Branch appears to have made a good initial impression on Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell.

Campbell had press conferences on Saturday and Sunday at the Lions’ training camp, and he spoke in both about Branch, who joined Detroit in the second round of the NFL Draft on April 28.

MORE NFL:

· HOW LOW IS JALEN HURTS’ BODY-FAT PERCENTAGE?

· STEELERS SIGN OXFORD’S KWON ALEXANDER

· ALABAMA ROOTS: 10 TRAINING-CAMP BATTLES

“When you turn on the tape and watch him at Bama and watch his career,” Campbell said on Saturday, “first of all, you’re playing at as talented a conference as you’re going to get in college, and he was uber productive. And it just showed up on tape against very good athletes, so you have a pretty good feeling as long as the guy is wired right and he can learn and continue to put in the work that when he gets here, he can probably take off.

“I feel like that’s a little bit of what we’re seeing out of Branch, man. He’s a football-playing dude. He’s got a feel for it. He’s got a knack. In the heat of the moment, he doesn’t panic. I mean, we had some one-on-one reps out there, we put him outside, and he’s covering and doing a pretty good job for a guy that that’s not necessarily where we see him. There’s no panic in him, and he’s a worker. He loves it. He’s not worried about anything else other than getting better, so it’s a good start for him. He’s still got a long way to go, but good start.”

RELATED: LIONS WERE ‘SWEATING BULLETS’ OVER JAHMYR GIBBS

The Lions appear to be considering Branch most strongly for roles at strong safety and slot corner.

At free safety, Detroit has Kerby Joseph, who started 14 games as a fourth-round rookie in 2022, led the Lions with four interceptions and finished fourth on the team with 82 tackles.

At strong safety, the other candidates are Tracy Walker III, a 2021 starter limited to three games in 2022 by an Achilles tendon tear, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a free-agent signing from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Walker has returned to the field after his injury. Gardner-Johnson tied for NFL lead with six interceptions in 12 regular-season games and started in Super Bowl LVII last season.

Gardner-Johnson also can play the slot-corner spot, where Will Harris returns after taking two-thirds of Detroit’s defensive snaps in 2021.

“It’s early, but he’s one of those guys you kind of see the light bulb,” Campbell said on Sunday about Branch. “What showed up on the tape in college is beginning to show up already up here quickly. He’s an instinctive guy. He’s got some ball-hawk ability. And look, we did one-on-ones the other day and he’s out there on (wide receiver Kalif Raymond) as an outside corner the first three plays. And I think we all know Leaf. Leaf’s got some stripes here on the wall and can run. And he did a pretty good job. And the next day, you come back and Leaf got him back, which you would expect, but he’s not out of place.

“There’s things to him. You can see him grow. And he’s another guy that is wired correctly. He’s wired right, you know? He’s got a chip on his shoulder, he goes to work and he just wants more. He wants more, he wants more, he wants more, so we’re happy with where he’s at at this point.”

RELATED: ALABAMA ROOTS: NFL DRAFT PICKS SIGN FOR $198 MILLION

The Lions are working toward their season-opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 7, the Thursday night contest that will kick off the NFL’s 2023 regular-season schedule. Before that, Detroit has preseason games against the New York Giants on Aug. 11, Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 19 and Carolina Panthers on Aug. 25.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.