NFL Mock Draft 2015: 1st-Round Projection Before Patriots vs Seahawks Super Bowl

The 2015 NFL offseason will be upon us at the conclusion of Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, and that means draft talk and speculation will heat up.

There are several intriguing aspects regarding the 2015 NFL draft, but the development and value of several promising quarterbacks tops that list. With plenty of teams looking for a franchise signal-caller, there should be a fairly heavy quarterback influence in the first round.

Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Florida State's Jameis Winston look like virtual locks to go off the board early, but there are some others who could potentially sneak their way into the opening round as well.

Here is a full rundown of predictions for every team selecting in the first round as well as further analysis regarding possible first-round quarterbacks.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2	Tennessee Titans	Randy Gregory, DE/LB, Nebraska
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
4	Oakland Raiders	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
5	Washington Redskins	Leonard Williams, DL, USC
6	New York Jets	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
7	Chicago Bears	Landon Collins, S, Alabama
8	Atlanta Falcons	Shane Ray, DE/LB, Missouri
9	New York Giants	Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington
10	St. Louis Rams	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
11	Minnesota Vikings	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
12	Cleveland Browns	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
13	New Orleans Saints	Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
14	Miami Dolphins	Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
15	San Francisco 49ers	Danny Shelton, DL, Washington
16	Houston Texans	Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
17	San Diego Chargers	Cameron Erving, OL, Florida State
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
19	Cleveland Browns (from BUF)	Vic Beasley, DE/LB, Clemson
20	Philadelphia Eagles	P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Dante Fowler, DE, Florida
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Alex Carter, CB, Stanford
23	Detroit Lions	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
24	Arizona Cardinals	Alvin Dupree, DE/LB, Kentucky
25	Carolina Panthers	Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
26	Baltimore Ravens	Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
27	Dallas Cowboys	Nate Orchard, DE, Utah
28	Denver Broncos	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
29	Indianapolis Colts	A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina
30	Green Bay Packers	Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami (Fla.)
31	New England Patriots	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
32	Seattle Seahawks	Devin Funchess, TE/WR, Michigan

Analyzing First-Round Quarterbacks

Marcus Mariota

On the heels of a Heisman Trophy-winning season and a spectacular career with the Ducks, Mariota enters the NFL draft as a hot commodity. Question marks remain about whether his dual-threat nature will translate to the next level, but there is a lot to like about him regardless.

From a production standpoint, no other signal-caller can hold a candle to Mariota. He also seems to have terrific character, which is an underrated aspect of draft value. The jury is still out on Mariota on the field in the NFL, but he isn't the type of person who will embarrass a franchise off the field.

One team that would really benefit from a star quarterback is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who own the No. 1 overall selection. The Bucs struggled through a brutal season with Josh McCown and Mike Glennon at the helm, and it is quite clear that neither is the long-term answer.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is hearing that Tampa is currently very interested in taking Mariota first overall, according to Rotoworld's Adam Levitan:

The Buccaneers would be gambling to some degree since Mariota excelled in a somewhat gimmicky college offense, but his skill set is undeniable. In addition to that, Mariota is receiving endorsements from some highly respected people within the sport of football.

One of those people is former Indianapolis Colts and Bucs head coach Tony Dungy, who compared Mariota to Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers, per JoeBucsFan.com:

"

I believe in him. And he does remind me a lot of Aaron Rodgers coming out of college. You know, Aaron Rodgers didn't play for three of four years in Green Bay, and now he's arguably the best quarterback in football.

But I think Marcus has a lot of the same skill set. He has the same drive and determination. I just really think the world of him as a person. I just think he's special. If I watched Jameis as much, and knew as much about him, I'd probably have a similar opinion but I just think Marcus is going to be sensational in the NFL.

"

That is a massive endorsement of Mariota, but it will take more than that for a team to invest so heavily in him as the face of the franchise.

The Buccaneers need to shake things up and go for the gusto, though, which makes Mariota and his explosive style the perfect option at No. 1.

Jameis Winston

While the needle may be tilted slightly in favor of Mariota right now, Florida State's Jameis Winston has a legitimate chance to emerge as the top quarterback prospect in this class before the draft process is all said and done.

After passing for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Seminoles to a national title during the 2013 season, Winston looked like a virtual lock to be selected first whenever he decided to enter the draft.

His production dropped off in 2014, though, as he threw for just 25 touchdowns and a whopping 18 interceptions, while FSU was walloped by Mariota's Ducks in the Rose Bowl. Even so, Winston has the size, resume and tools teams look for in a franchise quarterback.

The main concern, though, relates to his character. As seen in this timeline of Winston's off-field issues, he was far from a model citizen during his time at Florida State. Because of that, his draft stock has fluctuated significantly in the eyes of ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., according to ESPN College Football:

From a pure football prospective, there is no doubt that Winston has star potential. In fact, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller believes he is a better NFL prospect than Mariota, per ESPN 99.1:

That may be proved true, but some teams may still be hesitant to take him because of his character. The Tennessee Titans could potentially select Winston at No. 2, but after Vince Young's erratic behavior burned them previously, expect them to go in a different direction.

If that is the case, then Winston will likely be available for the New York Jets at No. 6. Current starter Geno Smith has only been in the league for two years, but it already seems quite apparent that he doesn't have what it takes to be a quality NFL quarterback.

The Jets have a few deficiencies, but quarterback tops the list. They need to find an answer, and Winston could be that guy. New York would be gambling to some degree, but a player of Winston's talent is worth the risk.

Brett Hundley

Mariota and Winston are virtual locks to fly off the board in the first round, but things are much murkier at quarterback after that. It is entirely possible that only two signal-callers will be taken in the first round; however, need at that position could elevate someone.

The beneficiary may end up being UCLA's Brett Hundley, whose combination of skills and production dictates that he is the No. 3 quarterback in this class. In three seasons as the Bruins starter, Hundley passed for 3,000 or more yards and scored 32 or more total touchdowns each year. He also topped 600 rushing yards in 2013 and 2014.

UCLA seemingly never reached its potential under him, though, and his passing was inconsistent at times. Because of that, it is very hard to tell how good he'll ultimately be in the NFL.

Hundley had a chance to establish himself at the Senior Bowl, but some injury issues kept him from committing, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon believes that hurt him since he would have stood out above the other quarterbacks in that game:

With that said, Hundley still has a chance to improve his stock by performing well at the NFL Scouting Combine and at his pro day. Even so, Benjamin Allbright of 94.1 FM in Denver doesn't view him as a high pick:

Only one team has to bite in order for Hundley to be a first-rounder, though. That team could be the Houston Texans at No. 16 since they are in desperate need of a quarterback. The triumvirate of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett and Case Keenum simply wasn't good enough to get Houston into the playoffs.

The Texans do have a playoff-caliber roster as a whole, and Hundley could be the one to put them over the top. He's big, strong and fast and has a great arm, so the tools are definitely there.

Perhaps Houston will believe that he can reach his full potential under an offensive guru like head coach Bill O'Brien.

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