Joe

Giles-Harris

He was an exclusive rights free agent. Tinsley pushed former third-rounder Jermaine Burton out of Joe Burrow’s circle of trust in the preseason and managed an 8/116/2 seasonal receiving line, with 15 of those targets coming against the Ravens and Patriots as Tee Higgins was out. Tinsley isn’t exactly a fantasy football sleeper, but Burrow’s rapport with him does make him interesting as a contingency plan. The Bengals also signed these 18 other players to ERFA one-year deals or futures contracts: LB Liam Anderson, C Jacob Bayer, HB Gary Brightwell, QB Sean Clifford, OT Andrew Coker, DT Howard Cross, OT Javon Foster, WR Xavier Johnson, CB Jalen Kimber, CB Bralyn Lux, WR Jordan Moore, LB Antwaun Powell-Ryland, S Russ Yeast, DE Isaiah Foskey, LB Joe Giles-Harris, LB Shaka Heyward, TE Cam Grandy, and S PJ Jules.

Zierlein describes Giles-Harris (6'2/234) as a “Traditional inside linebacker who is short on speed, but long on instincts and production.” Giles-Harris didn’t perform well at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 3rd percentile athletic SPARQ composite score. That was bad news as he had a lot to prove at the combine due to a knee injury he suffered in November. Giles-Harris will likely be a Day 3 selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Pauline reports that he stood on the 4.75 second 40-yard dash time he put up at the NFL Scouting Combine, but did run a 7.03 second three-cone drill. The productive linebacker has battled knee injuries, but still ranks as one of the top inside linebackers in this class. “Giles-Harris had dinner with the San Francisco 49ers last night and met with the Kansas City Chiefs today,” writes Pauline. At this point, he seems like a High Day 3 -- possible late Day 3 -- selection in 2019.

Giles-Harris (6'2/240) has his 2018 season come to a premature end due to a knee injury suffered in early November. For that reason he has a lot to prove at this week’s Combine, especially if he’s healthy enough to participate in the athletic testing events. “He’ll have issues to tackle: mainly in that I’m not sold on his high end athleticism and he appears to play more effective in tighter windows,” Crabbs wrote. Should Giles-Harris not be able to test, the medical reports will be of even greater importance when it comes to his draft prospects.

Giles-Harris is being “slept on,” in Marino’s eyes. The linebacker was sensational in his first two years on campus, and while a knee injury hampered him in his junior year, he still showed the flashes that make him one of the better linebacker’s in this class. Marino calls him arguably the best “processor” in this class, as he quickly diagnoses plays and is able to take the proper angles to make big plays. There are questions about his athleticism -- the combine is going to be massive for him -- but Marino believes he can be a starting MIKE that goes off the board on Day 2.

A three-year starter, Giles-Harris (6'2/240) is one of the top linebackers in this year’s class. He had 100-plus tackles his first two seasons, and was on track this year before going down with a knee injury. Giles-Harris has a strong college resume (two-time All ACC honors) but isn’t going to blow up the Combine. A high-floor/low-risk prospect, Giles-Harris projects as a Day 2 pick.

Typically when we see a pair of Duke players declaring for the draft we’re wondering who Coach K will replace them with. In this case, it’s the football squad, with quarterback Daniel Jones also declaring for the draft. Giles-Harris had a knee injury late in the year, but he had 100-plus tackles the previous two years, and 32.5 of those were made for loss; 8.5 of them sacks. Giles-Harris also intercepted a pair of passes, and was an analytical darling to sites like PFF. At 6-foot-2, 229-pounds, the size is elite, but the production is very hard to argue. We’re excited to see how he tests.

The diagnosis is very preliminary and Giles-Harris will have an MRI to confirm. Cutcliffe said no one is talking about the linebacker requiring surgery at this point. The injury is not an anterior cruicate ligament issue, however. Stay tuned.

Giles-Harris burst onto the scene last year with 107 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, one interceptions, two breakups, one fumble recovery and four QB pressures. For that, Giles-Harris was a First team Freshman All-American pick by Athlon Sports, Campus Insiders and USA Today. He’s a preseason All-ACC selection by Lindy’s Sports (3rd team) and Athlon Sports (4th team) and a candidate for the Butkus Award, an honor presented annually to the top linebacker in the nation.

Giles-Harris was sensational in 2017 as a sophomore, posting 125 tackles -- 16 of them for loss -- and posting a 90.4 PFF grade in the process. Inside linebackers generally aren’t early selections, but if Giles-Harris (6'2/229) shows three-down linebacker ability again in 2018, he’ll be one of -- if not the -- first to come off the board.