NFL Draft: The Arrowhead Pride three-round mock draft

We secretly love mock drafts around here at Arrowhead Pride.

They’re fun and they present you with scenarios to look at without your own biases baked in as to who will or won’t be available. We did our first mock of the season on this week’s episode of the AP Laboratory.

The ground rules

• We took three recent mock drafts as our baseline.
• If a player was available in two of three mock drafts, we could select them.

The exercise was a significant challenge as it restricted the board pretty tight. Here were our results:

29. Cornerback DeAndre Baker, Georgia

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

There really wasn’t much on the board that excited us at 29. If the Chiefs anticipated it playing like this, I would hope that they trade up. Baker is more of a like than a love for us down in the AP Laboratory. He’s well-rounded as a player and solid in man coverage. He’s physical, aggressive and displayed some ball skills as well. Where is the ceiling to his game though? Is this what he is? The athletic testing this week at the combine will be important to show that he has an above average profile. Regardless of if he does indeed perform well in Indianapolis, there isn’t much on film athletically that excites in his hips or feet. Baker will be a solid player in the league, but there isn’t CB1 upside.

61. EDGE Christian Miller, Alabama

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Again, the board was not overly encouraging from a value perspective, but there were still solid players available. Miller struggled with injuries in his time in Tuscaloosa, but there are intriguing athletic traits to work with as a pass rusher. Miller is a long, flexible edge player who possesses as a balanced plan as a pass rusher. While there were some health concerns, there are enough attractive traits to want to invest in Miller in the late second round.

63. Cornerback Justin Layne, Michigan State

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Are we double dipping at cornerback? Yes. Yes we are. A huge margin doesn’t separate our grades for Baker and Laynen, but why they are valued are entirely dissimilar. While Baker has the high floor to contribute immediately, Layne is the player with the high ceiling to develop into a CB1, potentially. The Michigan State product played on both sides of the ball for the Spartans, working in as a receiver in his time in East Lansing. While he only got one interception in his career, Layne showed very good ball skills with 15 passes defended. Layne is long, athletic and raw but shows traits and instincts that could develop into an above-average player if he puts it all together.

92. Linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, Duke

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Craig Stout believes he’s one of — if not the — best tacklers in the entire class. Giles-Harris possesses a long, athletic frame and uses them well in coverage. He shows good football character on the field with an excellent motor that runs through the whistle. He’s a smart player that processes quickly. He’s not the highest priority, but he’s a good player that’s hard to pass up late in the third round.

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KC Draft Guide

We are releasing the first ever edition of the KC Draft Guide on April 8.

We’ll have over 200 prospect write-ups, specifically about how prospects fit the Chiefs. There will be big boards, more than 300 grades on players, mock drafts, positional rankings and features all specific to the Chiefs. You can pre-order the guide for only $6.99 by clicking here.

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AP Laboratory

We discussed the pool of prospects at each spot in the mock draft, the decision-making on our selections and went further in depth on each prospect in this week’s episode of the AP Laboratory.