The Cleveland Browns are killing this free agency period with another big-time signing. GM Andrew Berry added former Raiders first-round selection, Karl Joseph. It is no secret that the depth chart is pretty slim in the safety department for the Browns, but adding a dynamic player like Joseph should no doubt get people excited.
Name: Karl Joseph
Height: 5-10
Weight: 205 pounds
Age: 26 years old
Previous Team: Oakland Raiders
Joseph was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Despite this being viewed as high at the time, he started his career off with a bang and earned All-Rookie honors and a relatively high PFF grade of 75.5. Joseph continued his impressive level of ply in 2017 as he finished his second season with a PFF grade of 80.8.
In 2018, Joseph had another solid season and actually had the highest PFF grade of any defensive player for the Raiders with 74.5. The writing was on the wall for Joseph during his last season in Oakland as they declined the fifth-year option on his contract and he struggled with a foot injury all season, which led to him being placed on IR.
Despite having decent production throughout his career, Joseph will likely be labeled a bust by most due to him being benched from time to time. With that said, he had some flashes of stardom and is an absolute missile in the defensive backfield. You have to take the bad with the good with a player like Joseph, but his aggressive play style and range results in more positives than negatives.
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Joseph is inconsistent and that was the death of his career for the Raiders, but he checks every box you want in a dominating safety. He also has a bit of a lengthy injury resume with the recent foot issues and the torn ACL in college. Joseph is not a small safety, but he does lack ideal size for his style. Despite his few issues, I do believe adding Joseph to a one year deal is a win and he has the ability to dominate in the NFL.