He's cunning and thinks a bit ahead, but that's average. He's average. He's like Iruka, but if Iruka was skilled enough to be a low tier jonin. This is someone who would have normally be left in the classroom to teach back in older generations.
In a whole, no he's not a joke. He can still hold his own as an average shinobi. However, as a sensei to the 3 strongest students in this generation... he is kind of a joke. His students save him more than he saves them. He hasn't really taught them much, just nudged Sarada and Boruto to work together more (though half the time they just do whatever still). Boruto learned most of his more impressive skills either by himself or from Mitsuki/ other classmates/ Sasuke. Sarada learned most of her impressive skills via her mother and using her sharingan in recent missions. Mitsuki doesn't need to learn anything other than experience thanks to Orochimaru.