Biggest potential for an Oakland Raiders draft bust

The other day, we talked about two guys who could be hidden gems for the Raiders from this year’s draft class. Now let’s take a look at the guys who could potentially be a bust from this year’s draft class. I know that’s not a fun thing to think about, but it’s always a possibility so there’s no reason to hide from it.

Since typically the term “bust” is only associated with more well known names, I will only be looking at the top two picks for the Raiders this season. And because that is such a small sample size. I will be talking about both picks and the potential to bust even though I do not find it very likely for one of those picks. But that’s getting into it before we get into it. So… let’s just get into it!

Karl Joseph

Anyone guess this was who I was talking about when I said I didn’t think there was much chance for being a bust? Anyone who has been following me on here, Twitter or the podcast knows that I am a huge fan of Karl Joseph and was ecstatic when the Raiders selected him. While many see him as a hard hitting strong safety, Joseph is nowhere near that limited. His ability to play both safety positions and have equally as big of an impact on the run game as the passing game massively limits his chances of being an actual bust.

Could he turn out not to be the great player I think he is? Sure, but the chances of him being an outright bust are slim. In fact, the highest chance he has of busting has to do with injuries. A bit undersized for a safety and coming off of a knee injury, there is concern among some that he may have durability issues in the NFL. But aside from those concerns, the Raiders have to feel pretty good that Joseph won’t be a bust.

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Jihad Ward

Now Ward might be a different story for the Raiders and is certainly a different story for many of their fans. Much like Mario Edwards, Jr. before him, Ward was seen by many in Raider Nation as a reach in the second round. Ward has the physical abilities to be a very good and versatile defensive lineman in the NFL. The big issue is that his production in college does not match what you’d like to see from someone with his physical talents.

There’s no concern about his work ethic, it’s more just whether he has what it takes to make it in the NFL considering the fact that he wasn’t all that great in college. Ward has a lot of work to do on his technique and his physique if he wants to succeed at the next level. Most of that can be taken care of. What some are concerned with is whether Ward has the kind of nasty mentality to succeed in the trenches at the next level.

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