Overview

Position: WR

College: Georgia

Class: Junior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’8 5/8”

Weight: 177 lbs.

Arm length: 29 3/8”

Hand size: 9”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.35 sec.

10-yard split: 1.50 sec.

Vertical jump: 38.0”

Broad jump: 125.0”

Bench press: 20 reps

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Extremely quick. Great acceleration. Has breakaway speed to take it the distance. Rare ability to reach up and/or extend for throws at all levels considering his size and catch radius. Crisp and sudden on slants. Quick and smooth on short out routes. Very quick on zig routes in scoring territory after going in motion. Will sink his hips and burst out of the break on route cuts. Uses head deception on in-breaking routes. Crisp on corner routes. Great feel for space on over routes from the slot. Natural feel to settle into windows on intermediate out-breaking routes from the slot. Plays bigger than his size with the ball in the air. Great hands and catch focus down the field considering his size and skillset. Outstanding ability and courage to leap between multiple defenders down the seam. Willing to absorb a hit to extend and/or go up for a pass. Impressive overall strength for his size. Strong securing passes when contested. Effective on slot fades. Experience both out wide and in the slot. Targeted on a variety of screen passes. Excellent vision on screens. Burst on screen passes prevents him from being tackled early. Extremely shifty and elusive with the ball in his hands. Can make defenders miss in close quarters. Tremendous juke move. Great quickness to throttle down as a runner and change direction in space. Instinctive and agile making the first defender miss underneath. Video-game quickness and burst to loop backwards after the catch and ruin a defender’s pursuit angle. Low center of gravity as a runner. Instinctive ducking under would-be tacklers and can do so in succession. Very strong at his size as a runner. Will lower his shoulder to finish runs along the sideline. Saw handoffs when aligned in the backfield from the shotgun and pistol. Gives effort to be physical as a blocker with a straight shot to connect. Intense and doesn’t back down.

 

Weaknesses

Below-average size and a smaller overall target. Limited route tree with heavy targets on screen passes. Didn’t really get downfield as a route runner from the perimeter. Seemed to lose his footing catching passes across the middle at times. Should be better getting in front as a blocker based on his quickness.

 

NFL comparison

Curtis Samuel

 

Conclusion

Overall, Branch is a quick, tough receiver who best fits in a slot role where he will be targeted on various screens and underneath throws. In addition to that, Branch showed he can make plays further down the field when given the opportunity despite below-average size.

 

Big Board ranking: #38 | Positional ranking: #9