The safety position has become the chess piece for defenses as they try to match on continuous evolution of modern day offenses. There are still big physical box safeties or mainly single high players, but most teams are looking for the Derwin James type who can excel at both. The Raiders have had almost neither in their secondary for a few years now.
And even though Karl Joseph flashed at the end of the season, the entire group was still marked by injuries and inconsistency. So the Raiders have the justification to go in a different direction if they think that’s the best option moving forward.