The Oakland Raiders have put an emphasis on the secondary in recent years. It appears safeties Karl Joseph and Johnathan Abram have already started to hit it off.
The two have gotten acquainted through OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Karl Joseph is admittedly impressed with what he has seen from Abram so far, via the team's official website:
“He's a great young guy,” Joseph said. “What I'm really impressed by is how he's been able to get this defense down. For a young guy to be able to come in and understand all the stuff and the rules of this defense, that's pretty impressive. He's been doing a great job.”
It is undoubtedly encouraging to see two young safeties starting to create a good rapport. The Raiders have made quite an investment in the secondary in recent years. They selected Joseph with the 14th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The new regime then used the 27th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Abram. They are hoping it will start to pay off in the 2019 NFL season.
Although Karl Joseph is likely the one teaching the rookie the ropes, he is still trying to justify his first-round status as well. He struggled for playing time to start the season under new head coach Jon Gruden. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back down the stretch of the 2018 campaign and is hoping it carries over into the final year of his rookie deal. He and Abram will have an opportunity to establish themselves as one of the most promising young safety tandems in the league.
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