The Buffalo Bills opted to take an athletic linebacker with the first pick of day three. Vosean Joseph isn’t a polished prospect as his college tape shows.
Linebacker was a position that was a sneaky need for the Buffalo Bills. They opted to wait until the fifth round to fill it. With highly touted prospects like Mack Wilson and Blake Cashman on the board, they opted to go with a Florida Gator.
Although it can be argued as a strength of the defense, you need to have three speed guys at the position to keep up with today’s game. Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds can absolutely fly and are locked down as starters for the foreseeable future.
Lorenzo Alexander lacks the speed to keep up and is nearing the end of his career. That may be the spot for Joseph to make an impact.
Prospect Analysis
When I watched his film during the draft process, he left a lot to be desired. He was constantly out of position on film and shot wrong gaps that took him out of plays. He will need to be coached up to ensure success at the next level.
He was not able to test during the draft process due to an injury, so that forced him into the fifth round. His physical tools are definitely a plus. His transition speed helped him overcome his flaws as a football player.
He is a competitive football player that can move laterally. When he evades blockers, he brings the lumber and goes for the big hit. He will not be considered a block shedder, so he will need some help with defensive scheme to accent his strengths.
Projection
Like I stated earlier, the strong-side linebacker is a position without a long-term starting option. Joseph is more of a weak-side option due to his size and lack of play strength. I don’t know what that means for the current configuration of linebackers but I don’t see Joseph playing there long-term.
This year, he will be a depth guy and a heavy contributor on special teams. Joseph’s forte is stopping the run so I wouldn’t shocked if he had a heavy presence on run downs.
If can correct his issues and he continues to bring the intensity and explosiveness he showed in college, he will push for a starting role sooner rather than later.