Of the six picks the Atlanta Falcons made during the 2026 NFL Draft, Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch is by far the most interesting. He may not have the family connection Avieon Terrell does, but in addition to game-breaking speed, his family has a connection that helped define his NFL journey.
It all starts with his upbringing. Branch's father, Shéva has worked as a renowned strength and conditioning coach throughout his life, so he's been well-trained and treating his body like he was an NFL veteran since he was in middle school. putting his son on a strict training regimen to help him take care of his body and mind.
Not only did his pops teach the 21-year-old the discipline and the consistency that helped him become one of the best receivers in the nation and get drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft--but he also had some high profile clients that set the tone for said work ethic.
Serena Williams may have helped Zachariah Branch land with the Falcons
In a recent profile on Atlanta's newest wideout, Falcons' beat reporter Tori McElhaney exposed that not only did Shéva Branch have an effect on his son's, he was a client of Serena Williams and other superstar athletes that helped him teach Zachariah the importance of treating his body like a temple.
"Branch learned all of this at a young age from his father, Shéva, who has worked as a high performance strength and conditioning coach for many years," McElhaney wrote. "Sheva has worked with the likes of Serena Williams, so (in Branch's words behind a smile) "be dumb not to listen" to dear 'ole dad."
Yes, we're talking about that Serena Williams. 22 Grand Slam singles victories, and 14 more in doubles with her sister. 377 weeks ranked as the best in the world. The highest-earning female athlete of all time. The greatest female tennis player to ever walk the Earth. If Sheva could work with a superstar like Williams, naturally Zachariah Branch would make sure to listen to his father's advice.
Since he was committed to the grind, Branch told McElhaney that his dad took any opportunity to turn a miniscule household task into a training opportunity. He noted that when his dad would fill up their house's water machine, he would have him doing push-ups while the thing cleaned and was filtered, And it's things like that that McElhaney noted helped set him apart.
"Branch has a strict regiment that he follows to take care of his body and mind. Stretching, sleep, water intake, calories, workouts, therapy, massages, supplements to fuel him, vitamins to replenish him, you name it, Branch has taken it into account through years of fine tuning."
Branch told McElhaney that he still does 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups a day to keep himself in tip-top shape. From when he was little, they engrained the importance of keeping his body safe. He even put a lot of stock into weight lifting, as evidenced by his 20 bench press reps at the combine. And you can see the disciplined approach already, as he shined during Atlanta's rookie minicamp.
The Georgia product's entire mindset comes from his dad, who worked with some of the best athletes in the world, including Williams. So in a weird way, if/when he blossoms into a star for the Falcons, it'll be in part because of his father's impact working with clients like the iconic tennis star.
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