2026 NFL Draft Profile: Joshua Josephs, DE/EDGE, Tennessee

Pros:

• Elite Reach & Pre-Snap Advantage: His impressive 82-inch wingspan gives him a significant edge, allowing him to initiate contact with offensive tackles from a distance and maintain leverage.
•  Explosive First Step: Josephs boasts a truly special first-step explosiveness, evident in his 4.68-second forty-yard dash. This translates to an elite get-off that often leaves even experienced SEC linemen grasping at air.
•  Disciplined Run Defense: Despite his youth, he displays remarkable discipline and gap integrity when setting the edge against the run, consistently anchoring down and directing ball carriers back into traffic.
• Advanced Pass Rush Arsenal: His pass-rush repertoire is well-developed and diverse, featuring a devastating cross-chop, an effective push-pull move, and a potent bull-to-rip sequence that troubled even top-tier opponents like Alabama and Oklahoma.
• High Football IQ: Josephs exhibits genuine football intelligence, particularly in diagnosing screen passes and misdirection. He rarely falls for the deceptive plays that often fool less patient rushers.
•  Converts Speed to Power: His long-arm technique is highly effective, allowing him to convert his speed into powerful jolts that dislodge SEC tackles and dictate the line of scrimmage.
•  Electric Closing Speed & Bend: Once he turns the corner, his closing speed on the quarterback is electrifying. His natural flexibility enables him to flatten to the passer at angles that tackles simply can’t mirror.
• Uncoachable Killer Instinct: When the game is on the line, Josephs plays with a palpable mean streak, relentlessly pursuing pressure opportunities with an innate killer instinct that can’t be taught.

Cons:

• Underpowered Against Strong Blocks: At 240 pounds, he sometimes struggles against powerful offensive tackles who can effectively anchor down, neutralizing his speed advantage and stalling his pass rush.
• Limited Cornering Bend: His ankle stiffness can hinder his ability to truly maximize his bend around the edge, preventing him from fully leveraging his torso and knee flexibility to get low to the quarterback.
• Vulnerable to Chip Blocks: He can be too easily washed out by tight end chips and combo blocks, which can open up outside run lanes that more physically imposing defenders would typically seal.
• Tackling Inconsistency: A concerning 23.5% missed tackle rate suggests he needs to improve his tackling technique or effort when trying to bring down ball carriers.
•  Finishing Plays: Despite generating good pressure, his career sack totals don’t always align with his pressure rate, indicating a need to improve his ability to convert wins into actual sacks and finish plays once he reaches the quarterback.

Summary:

When you watch him on the field, it’s clear why his athletic profile makes defensive coordinators absolutely giddy. That blend of around 4.6 speed, arms stretching over 34 inches, and an 80+ inch wingspan creates a physical specimen poised for immediate impact as a situational pass rusher in the pros. He consistently beats blockers with his explosive quickness and impressive length right off the snap, and his hand usage has shown significant improvement over the last two seasons. Tennessee strategically used him primarily as a designated pass rusher, and NFL teams would be smart to adopt that successful blueprint right out of the gate.