3 Most likely Cleveland Browns breakout stars in 2020
By Randy Gurzi
1. Karl Joseph, Safety
Another new player makes this list as the Cleveland Browns could have added a real player in Karl Joseph. For whatever reason, the 14th overall pick out of West Virginia in the 2016 NFL Draft seemed to always be in Jon Gruden’s doghouse. When Gruden took over the Raiders in 2018, Joseph’s name started floating around as trade bait and while nothing ever came from that, it always seemed to be a sure thing he wouldn’t get a second contract.
That proved to be the case and Cleveland came calling as Joseph comes in to help replace Damarious Randall and Morgan Burnett. Coming in on a one-year “prove-it” deal, Joseph will be motivated to prove he deserves some long-term security and the Browns will be more than happy to allow him to earn that.
Where Joseph really stands out is as a tackler. Since his days at West Virginia, he’s been known as a violent striker and he constantly finds the ball carrier. In 49 career games, he has 236 tackles, nine of which went for a loss. He’s also registered three sacks, and a forced fumble.
As far as coverage goes, he’s not stellar in this area but he isn’t exactly a liability and he can also occasionally make a play on the ball. For his career, he has 15 pass defenses and four interceptions, one in each of his seasons.
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Cleveland missed the way Jabrill Peppers played the game on defense last season and Joseph is the kind of player who can bring that physicality back, which would instantly make him a star in the Dawg Pound.