2015 NFL Mock Draft: Full 1st-Round Projections Following Super Bowl

Which NFL team is going to be castigated on draft day, only to be vindicated months later?

Each and every year, critics hop on a small handful of teams for reaching in the first round. Some of those teams end up snatching extremely valuable players, while others aren't quite so lucky.

Last year, many fans questioned whether the Dallas Cowboys got a ton of value by drafting Zack Martin 16th overall. The rookie offensive guard ended up a first-team All-Pro selection.

With a somewhat shallow talent pool in this year's class, it's inevitable that some players will fall off the board a little earlier than expected. The four players below are among the potentially more noteworthy selections.

Pick	Team	Player
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Leonard Williams, DT, USC
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Randy Gregory, OLB/DE, Nebraska
4	Oakland Raiders	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
5	Washington Redskins	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
6	New York Jets	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
7	Chicago Bears	Landon Collins, SS, Alabama
8	Atlanta Falcons	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
9	New York Giants	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
10	St. Louis Rams	La'el Collins, OT, LSU
11	Minnesota Vikings	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
12	Cleveland Browns	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
13	New Orleans Saints	Dante Fowler, OLB, Florida
14	Miami Dolphins	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
15	San Francisco 49ers	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
16	Houston Texans	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
17	San Diego Chargers	T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
19	Cleveland Browns	Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State
23	Detroit Lions	Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio State
24	Arizona Cardinals	Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
25	Carolina Panthers	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
26	Baltimore Ravens	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
27	Dallas Cowboys	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
28	Denver Broncos	Ty Sambrailo, OT, Colorado State
29	Indianapolis Colts	Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
30	Green Bay Packers	Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami
31	Seattle Seahawks	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri
32	New England Patriots	Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan

Analyzing First-Round Reaches

No. 20, Philadelphia Eagles: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Teams in need of a quarterback couldn't have asked for a worse draft. Beyond Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, it's basically a crap shoot. In addition, the perceived gulf between Brett Hundley and the likes of Bryce Petty, Sean Mannion, Shane Carden and Garrett Grayson seems even bigger than that of Winston/Mariota and everyone else.

As a result, somebody will almost certainly reach for Hundley in the first round:

Hundley had a disappointing season. A few of his more noticeable flaws really rose to the surface, particularly his inability to read the field. Hundley often held on to the ball for far too long, a problem which was exacerbated by UCLA's poor pass protection.

Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon felt that the Bruins signal-caller could've helped silence some of his critics had he participated in the Senior Bowl:

Of the teams drafting a little later in the first round, the Philadelphia Eagles seem well positioned to gamble on Hundley.

They already have Nick Foles, who has one more year on his contract. However, Foles' numbers were trending downward when he broke his collarbone in November.

Season	GP	GS	Comp. %	Yards	YPA	TD	INT
2013	13	10	64.0	2,891	9.1	27	2
2014	8	8	59.8	2,163	7.0	13	10

There's reason to question whether he is truly the long-term option in Philadelphia.

The Eagles are in need of a cornerback and potentially a quarterback, depending on what their plans are for Foles. Considering the dearth of QBs, that position has a far higher premium. Philly could probably wait until the second round and still find a talented cornerback relative to the draft's top prospects.

The team might not necessarily be able to wait until the second and find a QB as talented as Hundley. As many questions as he has to his NFL potential, Hundley is still a physically gifted player with the arm to succeed in the league.

No. 29, Indianapolis Colts: Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Before getting injured, Cedric Ogbuehi was a potential top-10 pick. But ACL surgery is no joke, especially for somebody like Ogbuehi, whose game relies quite a bit on him being a great athlete. He didn't have a great season to begin with, and a major injury only serves to cloud his NFL potential even more.

While the ACL injury will cost Ogbuehi millions, some team could end up getting a massive steal. Ogbuehi might need a full year before he gets back to being himself, but at 100 percent, he could be a Pro Bowler.

The interior of the Indianapolis Colts' offensive line was a bigger concern in 2015, so in that regard, Ogbuehi wouldn't be a great fit. However, Anthony Castonzo will be a free agent in 2016, while Gosder Cherilus is due to make nearly $10 million in 2016 and $10.4 million in 2017, according to Spotrac.

Andrew Luck's impending extension is likely to eat up a ton of Indianapolis' cap. Ogbuehi would offer a more cost-effective solution in a few years should the Colts want to trim some salary after the 2015 season.

Plus, with Cherilus and Castonzo already locked in their roles, Indy wouldn't need Ogbuehi right away, so he'd have plenty of time to nurse his knee back to health.

No. 30, Green Bay Packers: Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Given both his alma mater and uniform number, it will be almost impossible for Denzel Perryman to escape the Ray Lewis comparisons, no matter how dissimilar the two are.

Perryman actually has a different Miami Hurricane in mind when bringing up a potential match for his game, per Alain Poupart of Dolphins.com:

"

If you draft me, you're going to get a guy who's going to give it 110 percent every play and get to the ball every play 100 miles per hour and I'm doing to do the best to continue to win. When (Jonathan) Vilma was in the league, I hear comparisons with him a lot. Recently, I was compared to Chris Borland (of the San Francisco 49ers). I looked at his play, but he's short in the league, too, but you play big.

"

The book on Perryman is that he'll be a solid if unspectacular inside linebacker in the NFL. Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel summed up the general consensus:

The Green Bay Packers moved Clay Matthews to the inside last year out of necessity more than anything else. Head coach Mike McCarthy admitted that Matthews is much better off on the outside.

"Clay is an outside linebacker. I think we all recognize that," he said, per Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "He was very productive when he went inside. I think there will be more answers and options."

In order for Green Bay to place Matthews in his more natural position, the Packers will need to add an inside linebacker, preferably in the draft. Benardrick McKinney will likely be off the board, leaving the team to reach for somebody else in the first round if it goes in that direction.

At least Perryman offers very little bust potential. He's a great tackler who knows how to read the game. He's exactly the kind of player you want serving as the anchor of your defense. His ceiling might not be extremely high, but he could be a fixture in the Packers' linebacking corps for years to come.

No. 31, Seattle Seahawks: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma/Missouri

Perhaps no player is more polarizing in terms of draft position than Dorial Green-Beckham. He might be the most talented wide receiver in 2015, but his off-field baggage is also arguably more burdensome than any other player's.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller tried to put DGB's red flags into perspective:

"Right now, for Dorial Green-Beckham, he's a borderline one," said ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., per David Morrison of the Columbia Daily Tribune. "He could be in the mid-first, he could be in the second or third round. There's a lot of fluidity there, for obvious reasons."

Just in terms of football skill, Green-Beckham isn't a great route-runner but has great speed and athleticism. As NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah noted, he's the kind of player who can be impossible to defend at times:

Drafting Green-Beckham at any point in the first round is arguably a reach. Look at how many games Justin Blackmon and Josh Gordon have missed over the past year.

Part of what will help DGB succeed in the NFL is finding the right team. Whatever team drafts him must hold him accountable and not be afraid to drop the hammer if necessary.

The Seattle Seahawks might be one of those franchises.

The Seahawks have made back-to-back Super Bowls without Beckham, so it's not like they'd be relying on Green-Beckham to get over the hump. Therefore, Seattle almost certainly wouldn't be afraid to punish him any time he gets out of line, even if it means potentially alienating him.

In addition, the Seahawks have so many vocal leaders on the roster who wouldn't be afraid to tell DGB when he needs to shape up.

The team could use a playmaker like Green-Beckham, and the timing would be perfect to take a risk like this.