Oakland Raiders: One Year Later, Grading The 2016 Draft Class

A recap and review of the 2016 draft class of the Oakland Raiders, including grades for each pick.

The 2016 draft class of the Oakland Raiders had their moments during the season, both good and bad. There were a few rookies who stood out from the pack, just as there were others who clearly struggled in their first season.

Here’s a review of each player from the 2016 draft class, to go along with grades.

Karl Joseph

With the 14th overall pick in the first round, the Raiders selected safety Karl Joseph, Safety out of West Virginia. At the time, some viewed Joseph as a reach, mostly due to his senior season being cut short due to an ACL tear. So there were obvious concerns about the injury and his subsequent recovery.

Although Joseph was not fully ready to participate in OTA’s, he was 100 percent ready to go for training camp. The first-round pick impressed early on, with his interceptions in camp off of Derek Carr creating early optimism that he was going to provide a presence for the Raiders defense for years to come.

However, Jack Del Rio and/or Ken Norton Jr. opted not to start Joseph for the first two weeks of the season. But after the defense struggled mightily in the first two games, Joseph was thrown into the fire starting in Week 3.

In his first game, the West Virginia product led the team in total tackles, with 10. After surrendering 69 points in the first two weeks, the defense held Tennessee to just 10 points with Joseph plugged into the starting lineup.

Karl also made an impact in his second start, as he tied for second on the team in tackles, with 8.

For the season, in 10 games played, Joseph accumulated 60 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 6 passes defensed. Not the flashiest stat line, but there is one stat that was definitely eye-popping when measuring Joseph’s impact on Oakland’s defense.

Although Joseph’s injuries seemed to hinder his rookie campaign, he seems primed to have a breakout sophomore campaign with a fully healthy offseason under his belt.

Grade: B+