Todd McShay NFL Mock Draft 2015: Notable Picks from ESPN Guru's First Mock

Well, folks, it's official—mock draft season is upon us.

Nothing dominates the NFL offseason quite like the hype and buzz leading up to the NFL draft, which leads to a slew of mock drafts by various experts around the web. Right in the middle of it all is ESPN's Todd McShay, who recently released his first mock draft of the year.    

You can find McShay's full list of selections and justifications for each pick at ESPN Insider (subscription required).

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2	Tennessee Titans	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Williams, DE, USC
4	Oakland Raiders	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
5	Washington	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
6	New York Jets	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
7	Atlanta Falcons	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
8	New York Giants	Vic Beasley, DE, Clemson
9	Chicago Bears	Landon Collins, S, Alabama
10	Carolina Panthers	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
11	Minnesota Vikings	Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
12	St. Louis Rams	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
13	Houston Texans	Devante Parker, WR, Louisville
14	Cleveland Browns	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
15	San Francisco 49ers	Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
16	Miami Dolphins	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
17	Kansas City Chiefs	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
18	San Diego Chiefs	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
19	Cleveland Browns (from Buffalo)	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
21	New Orleans Saints	TJ Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
23	Baltimore Ravens	Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
24	Cincinnati Bengals	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
25	Dallas Cowboys	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
26	Detroit Lions	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
27	Indianapolis Colts	La'El Collins, OT, LSU
28	Green Bay Packers	Bendardrick Mckinney, MLB, Mississippi State
29	Seattle Seahawks	Todd Gurley, RB, Seattle Seahawks
30	Arizona Cardinals	Bud Dupree, OLB, Kentucky
31	New England Patriots	AJ Cann, OG, South Carolina
32	Denver Broncos	Denzel Perryman, MLB, Miami

Let's break down some of the notable selections.

Obviously, it's hard to look past the first two picks, with Marcus Mariota going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jameis Winston going to the Tennessee Titans. Over the next several months, these two are going to be compared, contrasted, poked and prodded as folks try to decide who the top overall pick should be.

Rotoworld's Josh Norris provided his analysis of Mariota:

As for what ultimately prompted McShay to bump Mariota higher than Winston, it was the off-field concerns that follow the latter around everywhere he goes:

"

But [Winston's] off-field behavior to this point frightens me. The Titans and any team that considers drafting him are going to have to be comfortable with what they find when they look into his past, and with his psychological testing. But as I mentioned in the Mariota section, even if one or two teams that need a QB pass on either of these top two QBs, I don't think they all will. It's hard to envision either getting out of the top 10, at this point.

"

Winston's ability on the field isn't going to be questioned. Whether a team is comfortable making him the face of its franchise will be.

Five of McShay's next six picks are defensive ends, suggesting that this is a great year to have a high pick if you need help on the defensive line. The one notable exception in the run of defensive ends is Amari Cooper going to the New York Jets, however. 

Cooper was dominant at Alabama this year, though in New York the question remains who will ultimately be throwing him the ball, with Geno Smith failing to prove he can be a franchise quarterback at this point in his career. Still, Cooper would certainly make the Jets more dynamic on offense.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Two of the most interesting picks come much later in the mock, as McShay has Wisconsin running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Melvin Gordon going to the Baltimore Ravens and Georgia running back Todd Gurley going to the Seattle Seahawks.

Gordon makes perfect sense for Baltimore. The Ravens have been pleasantly surprised by the production of Justin Forsett but would likely love to pair him with a more traditional between-the-tackles runner. As McShay notes, Gordon played in a zone-blocking scheme at Wisconsin, which offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak brought to Baltimore this season.

And then there's Gurley heading to Seattle. While it's far from a guarantee that Marshawn Lynch will return to the team after this season, the Seahawks do have capable backups for him in Robert Turbin and exciting talent Christine Michael.

Gurley's talent is unquestioned, and he's the sort of bruising runner that would fit Seattle's scheme perfectly. Still, it's fair to wonder if the team would look to address other areas of need before selecting another running back.