PFF Ranks Karl Joseph Top Safety Free Agent
The former West Virginia safety, Karl Joseph, like his buddy, Nick Kwiatkoski is on free-agent watch this NFL off-season. The four year veteran and 2016 first rounder struggled in his first couple of seasons with the Raiders. However, he has since found his groove, garnering the attention of popular football platform, Pro Football Focus.
More specifically, respected contributor of the site, Ben Linsey spoke very highly on the former Mountaineer and now free-agent.
When looking at his grades by position, Joseph has received an overall grade of 82.2 when lined up in the box. That strong safety, in-the-box role is where it looks like Joseph plays best, and at just 26 years old and with the talent that he has, it makes sense for a team that is looking for that sort of player to take a flier on Joseph at a depressed price point.
Similar to his former West Virginia teammate and draft class pal, Nick Kwiatkoski, Joseph was on track for a nice payday. That was until Joseph would be sidelined half way through the season and placed on the injured reserve list. Creating the only hiccup on his 2019 resume. Prior to the uncontrollable and unfortunate circumstances, Joseph was crafting his best season of his NFL career.
Several teams will have interest in the 26-year-old come March. Writer for the Raiders Wire blog site, Marcus Mosher, anticipates that the Las Vegas Raiders will also have high interest in bringing Joseph back. Mosher also claims that the Raiders are keen on Joseph's ability to play inside the box and be a leader on defense.
While it's uncertain what type of contract Joseph will ink this off season, it's evident that he has earned the respect around the league.