This Forbes list acknowledges that Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph had a terrific 2011 season in his first with the team, but it also notes that he's only played a full 16-game season once since being drafted in 2006, and last season the lone All-Pro selection of his career.
Apparently Forbes expects more from a cornerback making $9.75 million. That's why they named Joseph as the third most overpaid player in the NFL behind Jets linebacker David Harris ($12 million) and Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby ($10.7 million).
Perhaps the makers of this list are more objective than I am, because I distinctively remember the Texans' cornerbacks in 2010 being Glover Quin and a rookie Kareem Jackson.
It wasn't pretty.
The defensive turnaround for Houston last season had a lot more factors than just Joseph. There was Wade Phillips implementing his 3-4 system. The team transitioned from Mario Williams being their primary pass rusher, to J.J. Watt becoming the new budding star.
There's the emergence of Shaun Cody, Brooks Reed and Brian Cushing as a true leader on the defense. You have a lot of pieces to this puzzle.
But Joseph is still the premier defensive back on what is arguably the league's best defensive unit behind the San Francisco 49ers. Overpaid or not, that counts for something.
Read more on the Texans at the Battle Red Blog and SB Nation Houston.
Loading comments...