Player: Brandon Joseph
School: Notre Dame
Measurables:
- Height: 6’(NFL Combine)
- Weight: 202(NFL Combine)
- 40: 4.62(NFL Combine)
- 10 Yard Split: 1.56(NFL Combine)
- Bench: 17(NFL Combine)
- Vertical Jump: 30.5”(NFL Combine)
- Broad Jump: 9’10”(NFL Combine)
- 3 Cone: 7.08(NFL Combine)
- 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.23(NFL Combine)
- Other Notes: Joseph was a player I was not fond of at first. It wasn’t until I watched his 2022 Notre Dame tape that I got a decently good feel about Joseph. I was relying on the combine to answer some questions, and he certainly answered them… but not in a good way. Stock down
Graded Position Specific Traits:
- Field Vision: 5.75/10
- Range: 5.5/10
- In-The-Box Zone Coverage: 6/10
- Deep Zone Coverage: 5/10
- Tackling: 5.5/10
- Man Coverage: 6.25/10
- Run Support: 5.25/10
Prospect Grade: 39.25/70; 56.1%- High end backup who could compete for starting role, and will probably be starter by the end of rookie year or in year two
Projected Draft Day: Rounds 4-5
Player Comparison: Andrew Wingard
Player Summary:
Brandon Joseph was a prospect I heard about as being a top safety prospect in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft back in like June. So I took a look at his 2021 Northwestern tape back in early June, and honestly I didn’t love what I saw. I remember thinking to myself “How is he in the first round conversation?” I saw him more as a late day two, early day three prospect. However, after watching a few of his games at Notre Dame, I like what I see. Did I think he was a first rounder? Not on film alone. I liked his film, I didn’t love it, I didn’t think he popped on tape. If he tests well at the combine and his pro day I think he could possibly sneak in at the end of the first, but that’s super best case for him. I think the second round is his sweet spot. I didn’t think there was a night and day difference from Joseph’s Northwestern tape to his Notre Dame tape, but there was enough to show me that he’s putting in the work and making strides as a safety.
I will say though, I can’t tell what his ceiling is, although I think he has a pretty solid floor. He’s obviously not a fully polished player, but when I watch him I also don’t sit there and think there’s a whole new level for someone to unlock in him.
Joseph is a solid player, and you can tell by his report card. He scored an average score or better on each trait. There’s not too many things you can mark Joseph down for without getting too nit-picky. There are two things I noticed about him that I want to touch on. The first thing is in coverage he needs to work on his eyes. It’s not an every play issue, but he can get himself caught with his eyes glued to the QB in zone. I saw a couple instances where he was in a position to make a play and just didn’t because he didn’t know where the nearby receiver was. He needs to work on seeing the field and spatial awareness, while only glancing back at the QB. The second thing is that Notre Dame and I think even Northwestern blitzed him a decent amount. Joseph does not like to get close to the line to blitz. He may shorten his alignment a little bit, but he likes to blitz from depth so they can’t account for him pre-snap and can find the open gap. I love that, I think that’s great; however, unless the QB is holding the ball for a decent amount of time Joseph isn’t getting there. It’s hard to tell what Joseph’s speed actually is, but it doesn’t seem like he’s fast enough to continue blitzing the way he is when he gets to the NFL. He is one I hope runs at the combine, he is definitely one I will be keeping an eye on.
UPDATE 3/11:
After a pitiful Combine showing I have Joseph’s draft projection dropping from Round 2 to Rounds 4-5. Obviously Combine testing isn’t everything but this raises some major questions about what he’ll be at the next level.