Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Profile: Vosean Joseph

Vosean Joseph was a three-star recruit from Miami who started 21 games for the Florida Gators, 11 in his final season. His junior year saw his breakout of 93 tackles with nine going for loss, an increase of 48 tackles and five tackles for loss from the year before.

Did his emergence catch the Steelers eye and when would they target the linebacker prospect?

Strengths

Vosean Joseph is an athlete. For his size, he can move, and this shows sideline to sideline, in coverage and downhill. Some of his best work can be done downhill when he is blitzing and using his speed and aggressive tendencies to get into the backfield.

Nobody is going to discount the effort, and physical toughness Joseph brings to the table snap in and snap out. He is a strong run and chase player who can get to the football in a hurry and set a physical tone.

Weakness

Vosean Joseph is slow at diagnosing. He is one of the last players off of the snap as he dissects what is going on in front of him. While he has speed and athleticism, most of that is shown in all-out sprints as he looks to make up on the ground he lost.

Playing from behind so often, Joseph is prone to missing tackles. He does not take strong angles and will over pursue or his miss target by diving at their ankles at the last second. Too often you credit Joseph for the effort but are disappointed that he was always a step or two away from the play when it ended.

Steelers fit?

In some ways, Joseph is just what they are looking for, and in others, he is precisely what they do not need to bring in. The Steelers lack speed at middle linebacker. Joseph would come and be the most athletic in the room next season.

However, the defense has also had communication issues in the past, and they have shifted to looking for players with more mental and verbal responsibility. In that regard, Joseph does not fit the bill. Joseph also missed the first game of the season for “failing to live up to the Gator standard.”

When thinking of his speed, athleticism, and effort, the Steelers will be intrigued. When considering that he is a project player who may not be able to get on the field with at least a small question on his background, it would not be unless Joseph fell closer to the third round.

– Parker Hurley is Pittsburgh Steelers team manager of Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @parkerhurley Follow @FPC_Steelers and Facebook.