Injury fears would probably have Branch being used very cautiously in camp regardless of whether he was here or not, as he's been used cautiously in camp in the past as well.
I'm a Caldwell skeptic (though I'd love to be wrong) - as with a season high of 28 receptions in a season I want to keep my expectations reasonable - and also, even though this has been a much "tougher" camp, WR's probably know that as going up for a catch that the DBs aren't literally trying to rip their heads off.
That "minor" psychology advantage is something that Rodney Harrison has used to his advantage during the regular season and it does make a difference, but really isn't in play during training camp drills. So I take a lot of practice reports with a grain of salt - as it really is quite literally, only practice.