Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-round mock draft to start the week
By Cory Kinnan
Round 4, Pick 107: Joe Giles-Harris, LB, Duke
Even after losing Alexander in free agency and potentially Kendell Beckwith as well, the Buccaneers still wait until the fourth round in order to grab another in the draft. With their fourth pick in this mock draft, Tampa Bay selects Joe Giles-Harris from Duke University.
Switching to a 3-4 scheme will benefit the Buccaneers, as they will only use two traditional linebackers in most defensive packages, which in most cases will be Lavonte David and newly signed Deone Bucannon. However, due to the nature of Bucannon’s skill set as a linebacker/safety hybrid, he may play all over the field in 2019, leaving the Buccaneers in need of another traditional middle linebacker for those packages.
Giles-Harris would fill that void for the Buccaneers, and at a fourth round cost, it could be a bargain for Tampa Bay. The former Blue Devil is not an elite athlete, running a 4.76 40 yard dash, hitting 30 inches on his vertical jump and a little over 9 feet on his broad jump, but he is a technician and a sure tackler.
Had Giles-Harris played every game in 2018 and not missed any time with an injury, he would have been staring three straight years of over 100 tackles in the face. After coming off of a year with 125 tackles, 16 for loss, and 3.5 sacks, he managed to follow it up with 81 tackles, seven behind the line of scrimmage and one sack in just nine games. Giles-Harris has the film and production to warrant an early day-three selection, even if he did not test off the charts athletically; here the Buccaneers select him with the 107th pick in the draft.