Kerby
Joseph.
Kerby
Joseph.
Illinois· 6'1"· 203 lb
Cover-3 match scheme, leveraging two high safeties and mixing in single high looks to disguise coverage.
Year 1 as a rotational third safety, with the ceiling to develop into a starting free safety who can roam the deep middle.
Pure man coverage schemes that frequently ask safeties to cover slot receivers or tight ends man-to-man.
Joseph's range and ball skills make him a natural fit for schemes that prioritize deep field coverage and opportunistic playmaking.
Selected #97 overall in Round 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft by Detroit Lions out of Illinois.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- —s
- Vertical
- 38.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 123inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 18repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Illinois | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Illinois | 10 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | Illinois | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Illinois | 12 | 57 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 39 | 116 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Kerby Joseph quickly became a starting safety for the Detroit Lions, known for his ball-hawking ability. He has recorded multiple interceptions in each of his first two seasons.