The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/835590
THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 163 "Branch was the team's best defensive tackle in 2016 and had arguably the best season of his 10-year career, playing 60.1 percent of the defensive snaps. … While he is entering his 11th NFL season and just turned 32 in December, there is no reason to think he shouldn't be able to duplicate that performance over the next two years with the same work ethic, overall approach and good health. Branch is valuable because he can play a variety of techniques, is excellent against the run and pushes the pocket in the pass rush." — ESPN.com's Patriots reporter Mike Reiss in March while explaining why he graded the two-year contract extension Alan Branch received from the club an 'A'; the website ranked Branch the No. 66 free agent in the league in March "I can just see [Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams] going there and thinking 'Peppers is a perfect guy in my defense.' … Peppers can be a freelance playmaker. Let him make his own plays. That's who that guy is in that system. I think it will be a great team for him." — An anonymous veteran defensive coach (not from the Browns) to ESPN.com's Field Yates, explaining why he thought the best move of the offseason was the Browns drafting Jabrill Peppers at No. 25 "The Lions have insisted the left guard position is up for grabs, but I don't see much of a competition there, personally. That's Graham Glasgow's job." — The Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett on the former Michigan walk-on who is enter- ing his second year in the league Brandon Graham might not be a household name yet, but he has successfully shed the "bust" label that was affixed to him after the former No. 13 overall pick had started just 13 games and notched only 17 sacks in his first five years in the league. Despite the paltry numbers, the Eagles still awarded him a new contract prior to the start of the 2015 season after his rookie deal expired, and he rewarded their confidence with his best season to date. Graham set career highs with 10 starts, 51 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2015, but took his game to another level last season while be- coming a 16-game starter for the first time. He finished with 59 tackles, 41 solo stops and 5.5 sacks while also forcing a pair of fumbles — but the numbers still don't tell the whole story. Under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Graham emerged as a force immediately, posting sacks in the season's first three games. He later enjoyed a two-week stretch where he combined for 11 quarterback hurries against Minnesota and Dallas. Graham's 14 tackles for loss and 30 hurries (a huge increase from 2015's total of seven) paced his team, and he also continued to dis- rupt the ball from opponents, forcing two fumbles to give him nine since 2014, which ranks sixth in the NFL during that time period. "While it is true that his career sack conversion rate is below- average, he's still a menace getting to the QB and negatively influ- encing the out- comes of passing plays. … Absurdly consistent, Graham won't get the media recognition until he nabs some more sacks," Pro Football Focus wrote. "Regardless if this happens, his 2016 season was among the most productive pass-rushing performances we've ever seen in the Pro Football Focus era [since the start of the 2006 season]." The Eagles bolstered their defensive line this offseason — acquiring talented tackle Timmy Jernigan and veteran end Chris Long before drafting ultra-productive All-American Derek Barnett in the first round — and Graham should be a main beneficiary from the revamped look. In the very near future, a deeper look past the raw statistics should not be required to know that Graham is among the NFL's top pass rushers. Brandon Graham Is On His Way To Becoming Michigan's Next NFL Stalwart Quotable "The Cowboys' biggest need entering the draft was pass rush, and they believe [rookie defen- sive end TACO] CHARLTON will help solidify a rush that has not been effective enough since DeMarcus Ware's depar- ture following the 2013 season. Second- and third-round cor- nerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis have playmaking abilities, but Charlton will have more opportunities because of the need at his position." — ESPN's Todd Archer on picking Charlton as the Cowboys' top rookie PHOTO COURTESY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PHOTO COURTESY JEREMIAH JHASS/DALLAS COWBOYS