NFL Draft 2015: Latest 1st-Round Mock Draft and Prospects on the Bubble

The NFL combine is behind us, but pro days are yet another opportunity for scouts and personnel executives to see whether the prospects they have on their big boards still match up with their evaluations. 

There are a handful of intriguing prospects in this year's class who could come off the board late in the first round or could fall into the second, depending of course on their valuations by teams but also on team needs. 

With the draft order altered slightly after some free-agency trades, let's take a look at the first round as it's shaping up now:

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Leonard Williams, DT, USC
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Dante Fowler, OLB, Florida
4	Oakland Raiders	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
5	Washington Redskins	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
6	New York Jets	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
7	Chicago Bears	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
8	Atlanta Falcons	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
9	New York Giants	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
10	St. Louis Rams	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
11	Minnesota Vikings	La'el Collins, OT, LSU
12	Cleveland Browns	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
13	New Orleans Saints	Alvin Dupree, DE, Kentucky
14	Miami Dolphins	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
15	San Francisco 49ers	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
16	Houston Texans	Landon Collins, SS, Alabama
17	San Diego Chargers	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
19	Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo)	T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
23	Detroit Lions	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
24	Arizona Cardinals	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
25	Carolina Panthers	D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
26	Baltimore Ravens	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
27	Dallas Cowboys	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
28	Denver Broncos	Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
29	Indianapolis Colts	Benardrick McKinney, LB, Mississippi State
30	Green Bay Packers	Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA
31	New Orleans Saints (via Seattle)	Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
32	New England Patriots	Arik Armstead, DT, Oregon

Prospects on the Bubble

The following players have shown flashes of first-round talent, but where they fall in the draft will depend on which prospects at their positions get taken ahead of them, as well as if teams are willing to take a chance if they have injury histories or character concerns. 

These three prospects are on the Round-1 bubble, but they could become long-time starters if a team decides to take a chance on them in the first.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Could Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon really fall out of the first round?

The Melvin Gordon who had 2,587 yards rushing in 2014? The Melvin Gordon who had 17 runs of more than 40 yards last year?

The answer, largely, depends on a few key teams; namely the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. 

In this mock, I have the Cardinals taking Todd Gurley over Gordon. Gurley is the best back in this draft, supported by NFL.com's draft analysts as well as CBSSports.com's. He has a "rare blend of speed and power" and is "very difficult to tackle on an angle," wrote NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, who compared him to Marshawn Lynch. 

Gordon showed off his impressive burst at Wisconsin, but his speed is more impressive than his strength; Gurley combines both in one package. Gurley is also the better pass-catcher out of the backfield, with soft hands; Gordon has "marginal hands" per Zierlein, who compared him to Robert Smith. 

Gurley missed the end of 2014 with a torn ACL, and the Cardinals could have concerns about his health. He won't do anything at his pro day, but his film speaks for itself. 

To be clear: Gordon is a very good back, and if the Cowboys want to address the running back position in Round 1 after losing DeMarco Murray, there's a very good chance Gordon could be off the board at No. 27. 

At the combine, one scout said "Gordon would certainly be selected among the top three backs but might slip out of the first round," per ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg. 

That's exactly why he's on the bubble: talented enough for the first round, but it will all depend on what teams want. 

Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

In the above mock draft, five teams have taken wide receivers. However, there are others who could look to the position as well—San Francisco, for example, or New Orleans. 

Breshad Perriman could easily be the fourth receiver taken in place of Dorial Green-Beckham if teams have concerns about the former's off-the-field issues and maturity level. It's also possible that six receivers go in the first round, from Kevin White to Perriman. 

Perriman is certainly an enticing prospect late in the round. The 6'2", 212-pound prospect has the "height, weight and speed numbers that every team covets," per NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. 

A nagging issue with drops could give teams pause on Perriman, but an offensive staff that thinks it's a coachable issue could walk away with a big weapon to develop if they can overlook that. 

In his junior season, Perriman was the Knights' leading receiver with 50 catches for 1,044 yards and nine touchdowns. As a true sophomore and true junior, he averaged 20.8 yards per catch. 

CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler thinks Perriman could go as high as No. 18 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs, while his colleague Rob Rang sees him coming off the board a little later at No. 31 to the Saints. 

If six receivers are selected in the first round, expect Perriman to hear his name called among them. 

Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio)

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The talent is mainly concentrated at the top in this year's cornerback class, and if the need is there, up to five prospects could go in Round 1: Trae Waynes, Marcus Peters, Kevin Johnson, Quinten Rollins and P.J. Williams. 

The Green Bay Packers, for example, could be in the market for a cornerback in Round 1 if they aren't able to re-sign free agent Tramon Williams. 

Rollins is a developmental prospect for sure: he only played the cornerback position for one year but earned the starting job in the season opener and proved to be a natural. He had 72 tackles, four tackles for loss, 16 passes defended and seven interceptions for the third-most in the country. 

The former basketball star isn't going to be a Day-1 starter in the NFL, but he could be a productive starting cornerback for years to come for the team that wants to coach him up. "Rollins is an attractive player due to his talent, toughness and confidence to embrace challenges with his overachieving work ethic," wrote Dane Brugler of CBSSports.com.

"He has the physical and mental makeup to see the field early in his career and fit any defensive scheme."

Rollins is a sold second-round prospect but don't be surprised to see a team target him late in the first.