Karl Joseph was always a name that figured to be on the Raiders’ radar. He’s a talented safety, which happened to be one of the team’s needs. He’s versatile, which the Raiders highly covet, and is a high character guy with good leadership skills.

The only problem was that No. 14 seemed a little high for a player coming off ACL surgery that most expected to go later in the first round. The belief was that if Oakland took Joseph it would come after a trade down in the draft.

Reggie McKenzie didn’t exactly deny that he was thinking along those lines as well, but a trade never materialized and so he went and grabbed the player he wanted. Considering the Falcons grabbed safety Keanu Neal three picks later, it’s probably a good move because it doesn’t look like they could’ve drafted him in the 20s. Here’s some of what national media type folks are saying about the Raiders selection:

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller is among those who praised the pick.

I love that Karl Joseph pick for the @RAIDERS. Secondary is a potential strength now. — Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 29, 2016

Pete Prisco at CBS also gave high marks, with his only knock being the ACL injury.

Joseph Grade B+ Love this player. This would be an A+ grade if he wasn’t coming off an ACL. — Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) April 29, 2016

That’s part of what makes this tricky but could also turn it into a high value pick. If the ACL is all fine and dandy and Joseph is a dominant safety, it doesn’t matter if they could’ve gotten him a little later. They liked him, had the No. 14 pick and no real good trade offers, and so they took him.

Pro Football Focus also gave the Raiders a B-plus for their Joseph selection. That grade comes even though PFF had Joseph as its No. 30 player on the board, but it notes, “Even though he’s rated that low, it’s still a good move given the rest of the safety options in this draft.”

Sports Illustrated isn’t as high, giving McKenzie a C for the pick, with their chief concern being that “he’s a little light for the position at the NFL level” and could end up injury-prone.

USA Today is more along the lines of the others, giving another B-plus grade, saying, “Joseph is a big hitter who can play in the box and has the range to drop deep to guard against the pass.”

Yahoo Sports gave a C-plus grade and called Joseph “a classic Al Davis pick (reach?), even if he’s been gone for years.”

The Raiders can only hope that Mike Mayock knows what he’s talking about as he said Wednesday that Joseph has the potential to be the best player in the draft. If that ends up the case, considering the way the recent Raiders top picks have turned out, Reggie McKenzie is going to be enjoying life for a little while.