Kelvin Joseph Selected by Dallas Cowboys as 44th Overall Pick in NFL Draft

Kentucky sophomore cornerback Kelvin Joseph was chosen in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys as the 44th overall pick in the 2021 National Football League Draft on Friday night in Cleveland.
 
After sitting out the 2019 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Joseph, who played at LSU in 2018, used his length and athleticism to pick off a team-high four passes in nine games played in 2020. He ranked eighth nationally and tied for second in the Southeastern Conference for total interceptions. He also added 25 tackles, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss.
 
He notched his first career interception in the win over Mississippi State and followed that up with a 41-yard pick-six at No. 18 Tennessee the following week, helping set the tone for the Cats’ 34-7 victory that ended a 36-year drought in Knoxville.
 
Joseph, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earned fourth-team All-SEC honors by Phil Steele College Football magazine in 2020 and was a First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll selection in 2019.
 
The draft concludes with rounds 4–7 on Saturday, May 1 at noon ET. The Draft will be televised nationally by NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and can be heard nationwide on Westwood One Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio and ESPN Radio.
 
Kentucky/NFL Draft Notes:

• Joseph is the 14th player drafted under head coach Mark Stoops at Kentucky, the second in the 2021 NFL Draft, joining linebacker Jamin Davis who was chosen in the first round by the Washington Football Team.
• Joseph is the ninth defensive player (Avery Williamson, Bud Dupree, Za’Darius Smith, Josh Forrest, Josh Allen, Lonnie Johnson, Mike Edwards, Jamin Davis) drafted under Stoops at Kentucky, the third defensive back (Johnson and Edwards) since 2013.
• This marks the second time in the last three years that Kentucky had a first- and second-round pick (Josh Allen and Lonnie Johnson in 2019). Prior to that, you have to go back 42 years to find two UK picks in the first two rounds (Warren Bryant and Randy Burke, first round 1977).
• There have been seven other Wildcats who have played for the Cowboys’ franchise in Cornell Burbage (1987-89), Randall Cobb (2019), Bob Fry (1960-64), Mark Higgs (1988), Chris Westry (2019-20), James Whalen (2000-03) and Ken Willis (1990-91). Joseph is the first Wildcat drafted by Dallas since Higgs in ’88.