The Kansas City Chiefs spent some time with Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris around his pro day as they prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft.
The latest prospect to draw some one-on-one time with representatives from the Kansas City Chiefs organization came at Duke University’s pro day, where linebacker Joe Giles-Harris reportedly met with both the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, per Tony Pauline.
While much of the day’s attention went to potential first-round quarterback Daniel Jones, the Chiefs are obviously set at that position with Patrick Mahomes, meaning most of their attention was likely on one of the draft’s promising linebacker prospects. Giles-Harris isn’t expected to land on day one and maybe not even day two, but in the draft’s middle rounds, he could be a nice grab for a team like K.C.
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Giles-Harris is a redshirt junior who weighed in at 6’2, 234 lbs. at the NFL Combine back in February. He isn’t known as a great tester, and his Combine numbers failed to stand out as expected, but his game tape shows several aspects that matter on the field: strong intelligence, clean tackling, and impressive instincts. In short, he’s made up for athletic deficiencies enough to stand out well at the college level. Now he’ll try to do so again in the pros.
In 34 career starts at Duke, Giles-Harris had 313 total tackles, including 32.5 for a loss, to go with 8 sacks, 8 passes defended, and 2 interceptions. He’s flashed decent blitzing ability and some coverage ability, although NFL teams aren’t likely to call on him to do nearly as much as Duke did realizing the mismatches NFL teams will try to create.
Jones will also need to put any injury concerns behind him. His senior season ended early with an MCL sprain, and he even concluded his pro day early due to a cramp in his leg.
If selected by the Chiefs, he’d likely find an immediate home on special teams with Dave Toub’s coverage units and figures to compete for meaningful snaps as a MIKE in the NFL.