Karl Joseph has had a strange start to his career in Oakland. He was a first-round pick in 2016 but struggled with injuries and consistency early in his career. A few weeks before the 2018 trade deadline, it seemed like a lock that Joseph was going to be the next former first-round pick shipped out of town by Jon Gruden.
But in the second half of the 2018 season, Joseph started to play the best football of his career. He was playing with confidence and was making plays in both the run and pass game. However, it appeared Oakland added his replacement in the 2019 draft, selecting Johnathan Abram late in the first round.
Joseph started the season as a backup but moved back into the starting lineup once Abram injured his shoulder. Since then, Joseph has played like a star, tallying 42 tackles and a career-high three tackles for a loss.
On Sunday, he was the team’s highest-graded defender after knocking away a pass on fourth down to preserve the win. Take a look at Pro Football Focus’ top-five graded defenders for the Raiders in Week 9:
The Raiders are going to have an interesting decision to make this offseason in regards to Joseph. The team declined his fifth-year option in April, which will now make him a free agent after the season. But with Joseph playing the best football of his career, can they really afford to let him go?
Joseph will have eight more games to prove to the Raiders’ front office that he is worth bringing back. But as of now, he’s arguably the best defender, and he is helping the team win games.
