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What's the best prediction for Karl Joseph's NFL career? Pain. Whether he inflicts it, suffers from it or just serves as one, each facet provides a glimpse of the type of prospect he is.

During his collegiate career at West Virginia University, the defensive back's name became synonymous with bone-jarring hits and big plays.



Joseph's playmaking ability at all three levels of the defense defines his skill set and makes him the best pure safety prospect for the 2016 NFL draft.

"He's the best safety in the class," an anonymous scout confirmed to NJ Advance Media's Jordan Ranaan.

Unfortunately, the Orlando native suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 7 during a non-contact drill in practice. This setback forced him out of the spotlight and placed him on the back burner throughout most of the draft's evaluation process.



His situation is not unlike that of North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. While the two suffered different injuries, everyone reverted to a wait-and-see approach as both recovered before they could be anointed a top prospect at their respective positions.



For Wentz—who dealt with a wrist injury during the season—he returned to play in the FCS National Championship Game, participated in the Senior Bowl and re-established himself as a top prospect.

The same can't be said of Joseph. His injury situation still lingers as continued rehabilitation already prevented the safety prospect from running for NFL suitors prior to the draft, and he might not be ready for the first game of the 2016 regular season.

"He's going to need to miss some time," an anonymous NFL executive told CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora. "It's really on us (the NFL teams) and not him. There's no patience in this league. We hear the kid would probably be ready by Week 4, which is not a lot of time in the scope of his career, but we all want a kid who can step in and be ready for camp and play Week 1."

Due to his recovery, Joseph decided against a full workout at West Virginia's pro day on April 4.

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"I was thinking about it, but actually going through the process you have to understand that sometimes your mind might tell you that you can do it but your body's not ready," Joseph told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's David Statman. "I wanted to, but I'm only at five months (since the injury.) I can't take any risks to re-injure myself."

Instead, the defensive back completed 19 reps on the bench before shutting it down in front of scouts.

Organizations should be willing to wait for a player as talented as Joseph—even if he misses a few games in his rookie campaign. When fully healthy, the safety provides an intimidating presence. It's impossible as a football fan not to get giddy when watching him play.

If the NFL still made greatest hits compilation videos for mass consumption, the incoming safety would be a prime candidate to regularly appear.

It would be an understatement to say the West Virginia safety arrives at the ball with authority. Just go on YouTube or Vine for a few minutes, and you'll find clips entitled "Hitman," "Karl Joseph Kills a Man in Texas" and "Karl Joseph is a bad man."

All of these are true—or semi-true when contextualized.

BJ Kissel of the Kansas City Chiefs' official site tweeted some highlights with a few of Joseph's biggest hits and plays:

Many wouldn't assume the safety is such a vicious hitter just by looking at him. He only stands 5'10" and weighs 205 pounds. The Floridian doesn't exactly strike an imposing figure like the Seattle Seahawks' Kam Chancellor.

What's important is how Joseph explodes through his hips upon contact. In this regard, he's far similar to another Pro Bowl strong safety: the Denver Broncos' T.J. Ward. The two are nearly identical in size and arrive at their targets with nasty intentions.

Below is another example of the safety's ability to demolish ball-carriers, courtesy of West Virginia MetroNews' Matt Sunday:

The hit resembles a scene out of Mortal Kombat: "Finish him."

What Joseph did to Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine just doesn't happen. Perine is a 234-pound running back and one of the best college football has to offer. Perine rushed for 1,349 yards last season and set the FBS single-game rushing record in 2014 with 427 yards against the Kansas Jayhawks.

It didn't matter. Joseph wiped him off the face of the planet for a second or two with what's known as a decleater.

Joseph and Ward share the same weakness, though. At times, these defensive backs will attempt a knockout blow instead of properly wrapping up to bring down a ball-carrier.

There will be instances during his professional career when Joseph attempts a kill shot instead of trying to make the routine play and completely whiffs. Sometimes he can be caught lowering his head before contact or diving at feet. Whichever team selects him will have to cope with a missed tackle every now and again if it wants everything else Joseph brings to the table.

Those plays are generally forgotten when the safety makes another big play. For example, Joseph displays strong run instincts as seen on a fourth-down stop against the Maryland Terrapins:

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

The defensive back quickly recognized the toss to the running back, ran the alley, avoided an offensive lineman coming off a double-team and made the tackle for a four-yard loss. This became a big play early in the game before West Virginia took over and eventually ran away with a 45-6 victory.

Big hits are only part of Joseph's multifaceted game. The more a safety can do at the professional level, the more valuable he becomes.

Today's NFL is centered on mismatches created by offenses and sub-packages used by defenses. Teams are searching for players like the Arizona Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu—a collegiate cornerback—who can do everything. There are very few around the league with the talent to do so. Joseph is one of those rare talents.

While his tackling prowess dominates the conversation, it's the other areas of his game that make him truly special.

Some players fall under the "Jack of all trades, master of none" category. They're versatile and asked to do a lot yet don't show excellence in any particular area. Joseph was asked to do everything in West Virginia's defense, and he made plays at every level.

Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson lined his safety up at the end of the line of scrimmage, alongside the linebackers, over the slot receiver and in the deep half and third of the field in coverage. Usually, Joseph could be found doing all of these things in a single contest or even series.

Let's refer back to the final play included on Kissel's tweet. Joseph lined up along the second line of defense. With the linebackers all blitzing, the safety's coverage responsibility became the running back—who just happened to be the primary target while running a wheel route:

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

Credit: DraftBreakdown.com

Joseph worked flat down the line, opened his hips and ran step-for-step with the intended target. Not only did he have tight coverage, the senior defender located the football, high-pointed it and came down with the interception.

To put the defensive back's ability to do everything into perspective, he snagged five interceptions in only four contests last season. Over the course of his career, Joseph amassed 284 total tackles, 13 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and 14 broken-up passes. The program even honored him as the WVU Defensive Player of the Year as a true freshman after he led the team with 104 tackles.

The numbers speak for themselves, but there is even more to Joseph's game that can't be viewed by box-score scouting.

One thing Joseph displays that's becoming a lost art in college football is backpedaling. Many coaches now teach the bail technique to defensive backs. These defenders never really show an ability to sink their hips, get low, pedal, open up and run with a target.

This isn't the case in Morgantown. The defensive staff teaches its defensive backs to use traditional backpedals. Joseph isn't the most fluid safety in his hips, but his foot quickness is exceptional. This also allows him to cover a lot of space from sideline to sideline.

Joseph provided one of college football's top plays during the final game of his senior season against Oklahoma when he annihilated wide receiver Dede Westbrook:

Take the monster hit out of the equation for a second. Granted, it's hypnotic watching the safety blast the wide receiver, but it's arguably the least important part of this particular play.

Prior to the snap, Joseph provided a Cover 2 look and buzzed to the deep third before he regathered himself, recognized the location of the pass and covered half a field before making the hit.

This type of range isn't typical of a safety. While NFL teams might not know exactly how fast Joseph is since he couldn't run before the draft, it's clearly evident on film how much ground he can cover.

In a world where the safety position continues to evolve, Joseph is the compete package: a team captain who can play near the line of scrimmage, line up as a linebacker, blitz the quarterback, intimidate receivers, cover the slot and play the deep half or third of the field. He'll also force fumbles and snag a few interceptions along the way.

Joseph isn't simply a back-line defender. He's a front-line playmaker. For NFL offenses, he'll simply be a pain to deal with any time he's on the field.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.

