Cowboys: Once promising draft pick is facing a critical season
Cowboys’ cornerback Kelvin Joseph hasn’t shown his worth as a second-round pick as of yet, making the 2023 season a critical one for him.
The Dallas Cowboys hit the jackpot by selecting linebacker Micah Parsons in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Back-to-back All-Pro seasons have solidified Parsons as one of the best defenders in the NFL, but the very next pick after him, cornerback Kelvin Joseph, hasn't had the same success with the Cowboys, in any shape or form.
As a second-round selection, there were high hopes for Joseph to be the Cowboys' CB2 of the future opposite Trevon Diggs who has made multiple Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team in his first three seasons. However, Joseph's journey to reach this type of status hit a roadblock initially.
Joseph suffered a groin injury in the final preseason game of his rookie campaign and was placed on injured reserve. He wouldn't be activated until Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings where he made his NFL debut.
Over the first seven NFL games he played in, Joseph only logged 14 defensive snaps, then he got his first break.
Joseph made the first start of his career in Week 16 against the Washington Football Commanders, and he showed why he was drafted so high. He played 57 snaps and racked up three tackles and a pass breakup while allowing minus two yards on five targets in the Cowboys’ 56-14 victory.
In the Cowboys' season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks later, Joseph got his second start. He played all of the team’s 74 defensive snaps in a 51-26 win while registering nine tackles (seven solo tackles) and nearly got his first career interception in the process.
This set up a promising second year in the league for Joseph, but then things took an ugly turn.
Last April, Joseph was named a person of interest in an investigation of a shooting that resulted in the death of a man outside of a Dallas nightclub. Joseph was cleared of wrongdoing in July, but his 2022 campaign was a struggle.
Joseph was the fourth cornerback coming into the season behind Diggs, Anthony Brown, and Jourdan Lewis after not showing enough in training camp and the preseason. So, Joseph was mainly a special teams gunner and a reserve cornerback, and although Brown and Lewis suffered season-ending injuries, he still couldn't find a lot of playing time.
This was due to rookie fifth-round pick DaRon Bland showing that he was a stud. Bland would log eight starts and registered 54 tackles, seven passes defended, and a team-leading five interceptions while playing 596 snaps.
Before the last season was over, Cowboys' Owner Jerry Jones had a message for Joseph, and it was a strong one.
“It’s time for him to become a man…He’s gotta say it’s time now,” Jones said. “He should accept a higher level of responsibility. He’s got more people depending on him. It’s time for some of the side stuff to ease its way out of his life.”
It's safe to say that he's been put on notice.
Joseph had some moments as a special teams player last season, but he hasn't shown the ball-hawking ability as a cornerback consistently, and certainly not enough for a second-rounder. So, as he enters his third NFL campaign, it's now or never for Joseph in terms of his playing career with the Cowboys.
Feature image via Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
