Strengths: Karl Joseph is an electric and twitched-up athlete that flies around the field. Watching him is like seeing a moth attracted to the brightest light, with the ball being the illuminated bulb. He has a knack of being involved in almost every play.
Joseph’s reckless abandon for his body and desire to force a turnover is a high-risk act that paid off well in college. He’s able to force fumbles and capitalize on the mistakes of opponents. He’s the most energized player on the field at all times as well, which is a good thing for a roaming player.
In terms of athleticism, Joseph has great speed and solid fluidity. He’s a capable coverage safety with his physical gifts. He’s able to recover rather well with his straight-line speed and plus acceleration. There are a lot of tools that can be developed, physically. I also really like his tackling effectiveness and willingness to stick his nose into every play.
There’s no doubt that Joseph is a leader. His physicality and passion ignite teammates whenever he delivers a blow. He also figures to be a tremendous special teamer with his mindset and physical gifts.
Weaknesses: Coming from a very friendly system at West Virginia, Joseph’s technique leaves much room for improvement. His main responsibility is usually to play in a deep Cover 2 shell, or assault the line of scrimmage as a blitzer. This highlights his skills well, but masks his lack of refinement in coverage.
There are too many examples of Joseph getting turned around in coverage because he completely lacks the footwork needed to cover receivers downfield. If it isn’t in front of him where he can attack and roll tackle, then he’s not very effective. That was simply his role at WVU, but this must be expanded in the NFL.
His frame and style of play are big concerns of durability. His season-ending injury in 2015 is something to consider, as well. Small defensive backs generally have more issues staying on the field for both injury and performance reasons. I am personally not a big fan of his wildness and the average angles he takes.
Outlook: Reckless safety play can be a good and bad thing at the next level, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Joseph can reign it in and still be effective. He has the physical tools and speed you love, but he needs some work to become consistent.
Somewhere in the third or fourth round seems like the perfect gamble for Joseph. He’s able to play right away in Cover 2 schemes, but will need time to show mental capacity in bigger assignments. There’s nothing on his film to say he’ll be capable of single-high coverages for extended stretches.
At worst, Joseph will be a great athlete and special teamer. That’s well worth the late Day 2, early Day 3 gamble, considering he is experienced and stood out as a playmaker in college. He has big flaws, but there are situations where he can become a good but not great contributor to a team.
Value: 7.53 – Third round
Comparison: Calvin Pryor
Joseph’s reckless abandon for his body and desire to force a turnover is a high-risk act that paid off well in college. He’s able to force fumbles and capitalize on the mistakes of opponents. He’s the most energized player on the field at all times as well, which is a good thing for a roaming player.
In terms of athleticism, Joseph has great speed and solid fluidity. He’s a capable coverage safety with his physical gifts. He’s able to recover rather well with his straight-line speed and plus acceleration. There are a lot of tools that can be developed, physically. I also really like his tackling effectiveness and willingness to stick his nose into every play.
There’s no doubt that Joseph is a leader. His physicality and passion ignite teammates whenever he delivers a blow. He also figures to be a tremendous special teamer with his mindset and physical gifts.
Weaknesses: Coming from a very friendly system at West Virginia, Joseph’s technique leaves much room for improvement. His main responsibility is usually to play in a deep Cover 2 shell, or assault the line of scrimmage as a blitzer. This highlights his skills well, but masks his lack of refinement in coverage.
There are too many examples of Joseph getting turned around in coverage because he completely lacks the footwork needed to cover receivers downfield. If it isn’t in front of him where he can attack and roll tackle, then he’s not very effective. That was simply his role at WVU, but this must be expanded in the NFL.
His frame and style of play are big concerns of durability. His season-ending injury in 2015 is something to consider, as well. Small defensive backs generally have more issues staying on the field for both injury and performance reasons. I am personally not a big fan of his wildness and the average angles he takes.
Outlook: Reckless safety play can be a good and bad thing at the next level, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Joseph can reign it in and still be effective. He has the physical tools and speed you love, but he needs some work to become consistent.
Somewhere in the third or fourth round seems like the perfect gamble for Joseph. He’s able to play right away in Cover 2 schemes, but will need time to show mental capacity in bigger assignments. There’s nothing on his film to say he’ll be capable of single-high coverages for extended stretches.
At worst, Joseph will be a great athlete and special teamer. That’s well worth the late Day 2, early Day 3 gamble, considering he is experienced and stood out as a playmaker in college. He has big flaws, but there are situations where he can become a good but not great contributor to a team.
Value: 7.53 – Third round
Comparison: Calvin Pryor