BACKGROUND: Kelvin Joseph Jr. was born and raised in Baton Rouge and started playing football at the youth level. He lettered in basketball and football at Scotlandville Magnet High School (10 miles north of LSU’s campus) and was a three-year starter, seeing time at both cornerback and safety. As a junior, Joseph recorded 67 tackles, 15 passes defended and three interceptions, earned First Team All-State and led Scotlandville to the 2016 5A state championship. He again earned First Team All-State honors as a senior and was a U.S. Army All-American, finishing the 2017 season with 113 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss and three interceptions. Joseph finished his high school career with 13 returned touchdowns on defense or special teams.
A four-star safety recruit out of high school, Joseph was the No. 5 safety in the 2018 class and the No. 2 recruit in the state (behind former teammate WR Terrace Marshall). He received his first offer (Jackson State) as a sophomore and Les Miles and LSU soon followed. Joseph verbally committed to the Tigers, but kept his recruitment open, focusing on four schools: Alabama, Florida, Florida State and LSU. In the end, he stayed close to home and signed with LSU, becoming the first football player from Scotlandville to do so. After one season at LSU, he entered the transfer portal and signed with Kentucky. His best friend (Javonte Smart) is a junior guard on the LSU basketball team. Joseph opted out of the final two games of the 2020 season and entered the 2021 NFL Draft.
STRENGTHS: Loose-hipped athlete to easily flip and stay on the same plane vertically…plays with sudden twitch and easy speed to match receivers from start to finish…squats on routes in off-coverage, using his drive explosion to arrive before the ball…above average ball awareness and gets his head turned to find the quarterback…looks like a wide receiver with top ball skills making plays on the football…aggressive at the catch point and plays through the hands of the target…settles his feet to stay balanced as a tackler and see who he hits…competes with supreme confidence…experienced inside, outside and has the skill set to play any position in the secondary…finished second in the SEC with four interceptions (in only nine games) in 2020.
WEAKNESSES: Below average vision/eyes…inconsistent body position and misplaced hands downfield leads to penalties…room to get stronger…needs to be more forceful in his jam to reroute receivers…lackadaisical habits with his technique…allowed three touchdowns and several big plays in 2020 (his completions allowed averaged 16.5 yards)…meager playing experience with only nine career starts…there are character red flags due to youthful immaturity and accountability issues (on and off the field)…some of his former coaches go to bat for him, but some don’t (he “needs to grow up,” according to one former coach)…scouts say his rapping passion might supersede his football passion (has released six albums under the name “YKDV Bossman Fat”)…suspended for the 2018 bowl game for a violation of team rules…he had one foot out the door before the season was over and the coaches directed him to opt out.
SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Kentucky, Joseph was the boundary cornerback in head coach Mark Stoops’ zone/man scheme. After fizzling out after one season at LSU, he put together a productive nine games in Lexington in 2020 (four interceptions in nine games) before his effort level fell off and the coaches directed him to opt out (Stoops: “I can’t just have him out there standing around…”). A big-time athlete, Joseph has the rare ability to shadow routes without losing balance, displaying twitchy feet, fluid movements and high-end ball skills to consistently make plays. However, the sample size (nine career starts) and character questions are a concern and his undisciplined eyes lead to completions for the offense. Overall, Joseph won’t be a fit for every organization due to maturity concerns, but he has first-round physical talent and the athleticism to blanket any type of receiver, which is why a team will likely roll the dice on him in the top-50 picks.
I didn't think he would be there when Dallas picked. They may have lucked their way into him.
