Positional ranking: #10
Big Board ranking: #80
Overview
Position: CB
College: Kentucky
Class: Sophomore (RS)
Age: 20
Measurables
Height: 5’11 1/2”
Weight: 197 lbs.
Arm length: 31 7/8″
Hand size: 9 1/4″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.34 sec.
Vertical jump: 35.0″
Broad jump: 128.0″
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: 7.21 sec.
Short shuttle: 4.22 sec.
Strengths
Prototype size and length on the perimeter. Explosive overall athlete at his size. Plus speed in the full sprint. Excellent acceleration to break on the ball. Uses length to effectively jam. Strong and uses the sideline to his advantage. Stays low and ready to react with his eyes on the quarterback. Patient in short cushion coverage. Physical at the catch point. Great ball skills and tracks the ball very well downfield. Good play recognition versus the run. Aggressive coming in to tackle. Strong wrap-up finisher. Breaks down in space. Impressive toughness to get in on gang tackles. Takes on and sheds blocks. Seemingly equal experience at both left and right cornerback. Played snaps at safety and has the skillset to thrive there. Showed very well in coverage versus Alabama in 2020.
Weaknesses
Hand placement on the shoulder will draw pass interference. Needs to avoid grabbing at the top of routes. A bit stiff opening hips to sprint. Average mirror skills. Route recognition needs improvement. Seems to sit on underneath routes and leave deeper area exposed in zone coverage. Really struggled to cover Kyle Pitts in 2020 Florida game. Sat out the 2019 season after leaving LSU (suspended for bowl game the previous season).
NFL comparison
L’Jarius Sneed
Conclusion
Overall, Joseph is a prototype perimeter cornerback that will play with physicality and provide significant help in run support. If some of the issues in coverage aren’t cleaned up, a case could even be made that he fits better as an athletic safety.
I don’t like the sound of him, but I guess Pitts beats everyone.
This reminds me Kentucky is not in the NCAA tournament.
Lol