Chiefs preliminary two-round mock draft

Believe it or not, mock drafts can be a valuable exercise.

Teams actually do their own in preparation for the actual draft. Your favorite draft analyst isn’t going to nail a ton of picks, but they are providing ballpark value of players based on the writer’s own grades and the intel they are acquiring from sources.

I don’t look at mocks for the accuracy, but they are still immensely helpful. They create scenarios for you to make your own mind up. I really enjoy looking at a mock and then making my own decisions based on the order of selections. Who would I take at 29 instead of player X? Our draft team, Matt, Craig, Jake and I, constantly use mocks to help us understand value and develop our own philosophy for how we would like, want or hope the April selection meeting to play out for the Chiefs.

Our pal over at Bleacher Report, Matt Miller, posted a seven-round mock draft after the Super Bowl. Thanks to a great idea from AP reader @kgumminger to discuss mock drafts on this week’s episode of the AP Laboratory, we brought our conversations and process out into the open. We took a look at Miller’s mock and made decisions on who we would or would not take if that was the scenario we faced.

Pick 29

Miller’s pick - Georgia cornerback DeAndre Baker

Baker is a good player and gets a lot of late round one buzz in the draft community. He’s a well-rounded player that is solid at a lot of things. Craig compared Baker to a version of Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson, although his ball skills are better. We currently have a second-round grade on Baker. As a draft team, we don’t value Baker that high.

Our pick - Delaware safety Nasir Adderley

In Miller’s scenario (and you should definitely read the whole thing) the draft didn’t fall great for the Chiefs. However, there was a player we all like in Adderley. Brett Veach and Adderley already have a connection, as they are both Delaware Blue Hen alumni. Adderley will be talked about a lot over the next few months. We see enough range and ball skills for him to succeed as a single high-safety, attitude and toughness to fly down and hit, special teams skills and a cornerback background. There is a lot to work with. Adderley would be good value at 29.

Pick 61

Miller’s pick - Iowa State running back David Montgomery

I am a Montgomery fan. He’s going to draw comparisons to former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt because of his contact balance. He possesses good lateral agility for a man his size and is plenty capable in the passing game. He’s a good player.

Our pick - Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams

From a positional value standpoint, we don’t love the idea of selecting a running back in the second round (or third round, for that matter) when there are so many other needs this team has.

Williams is a fascinating defensive back. He is 6 feet 3 and over 200 pounds but has surprisingly good hips and feet for a man that size. From a potential perspective, there are a lot of tools to work with. He needs to improve consistency in press and be more physical, but we’re all fans of his game.

Pick 63

Miller’s pick - NC State center Garrett Bradbury

Our pick - Same

Bradbury is very good value to us this late in the draft. We got an up-close look at the center in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. He moves very well in the interior, can block in space and is sound as a pass blocker. He struggled against powerful interior defensive lineman at times but that can be fixed as he develops in an NFL weight program. The value is right here.

AP Laboratory

We discussed draft philosophy, next year’s offensive line, players that need to improve and more in this week’s episode of the AP Laboratory.