NFL Draft 2016: Five worst picks of the first round

Karl Joseph, Safety — Raiders, Pick No. 14

This one is probably the most difficult to include among the worst picks in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft because, coming into the draft, Karl Joseph was among the players that I considered to be the most underrated in his class. Despite injuries that limited the action he saw while playing at West Virginia, Joseph proved he’s a gamer with the heart of a warrior that can pack a big punch when he lays a hit and could be a star in an NFL secondary with the right development.

What’s more is that I also like Joseph coming to the Oakland Raiders to play alongside one of their prized new signings in Sean Smith. The Raiders put a lot of focus on solidifying the back end of their secondary this offseason and Joseph is a great piece to help them finish doing just that.

Why the Raiders taking Karl Joseph winds up as one of the worst picks of the first round is the fact that they were content to reach in a major, major way to take him with the No. 14 overall pick in the draft. By most projections coming into the draft, Joseph was a fringe first-round pick that could have foreseeably fallen into the second round. As such, taking him at No. 14 is just ludicrous when there are 16 teams picking behind you. While not all of them may want to move up, there absolute has to be at least one willing to make a trade so that you can move back to a position where taking Joseph would’ve made sense.

Joseph to the Raiders is a special case for sure as it has nothing to do with talent or fit, but rather that it has everything to do with how big of a reach it was to take him where Oakland did.

Next: No. 4 Germain Ifedi