Todd McShay NFL Mock Draft 2015: Notable Picks from ESPN Guru's 2nd Mock

With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the eyes of every NFL fan immediately turned to the draft. That's also true for the analysts, who are knee-deep in video analysis and are releasing their mocks for the upcoming event. 

Wasting little time after the 2014 NFL season ended, ESPN's Todd McShay has unveiled his second mock draft. The first one came out in mid-December, so the draft guru has had nearly three months to scout and evaluate the talent available. 

Proving that the draft and its process is a living, breathing thing destined to change many times before April 30, there are stark changes from his initial projections (you can view McShay's updated first-round mock with write-ups on each player in the link above). 

Here is a quick glance at the top 32 picks in McShay's mock as well as the notable selections from this iteration. 

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

The Quarterback Quandary

The biggest difference at the top of McShay's mock draft starts, as things in the NFL tend to do, with the quarterback. His first version had Marcus Mariota going No. 1 to Tampa Bay and Jameis Winston going second to Tennessee. 

This time around, Winston moves up to the top spot, with Mariota sliding all the way to the Jets at No. 6. The Winston selection certainly seems reasonable, as he looks the part of a prototypical NFL quarterback at 6'4" and 235 pounds. 

However, there are certainly analysts who don't think Winston will be taken ahead of Mariota on April 30. Former Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik, who now works for ESPN, told Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times:

Meanwhile, Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News had this to say about the draft debate between Mariota and Winston:

While a lot of rumors will spread around in the next two months, Bowen's note is telling. Perhaps things will change after the two quarterbacks have their workouts in front of scouts. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with Winston or Mariota, depending which one doesn't go No. 1 (if the Bucs take a quarterback). The Titans certainly need help at the position, but Ken Whisenhunt drafted Zach Mettenberger last year. 

There's no verdict on Mettenberger as a starting quarterback yet after six starts, though he did average 7.9 yards per attempt, which would have ranked sixth if he had enough attempts to qualify. 

After the Titans, Jacksonville and Oakland aren't in the market for a quarterback. That leaves Washington and New York as the next-likeliest destinations for the No. 2 quarterback. 

The High-Upside Defender

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

On the defensive side, it feels like a surprise that Arik Armstead would go to Atlanta at No. 8, if only because he never developed into a star at Oregon. His career high in sacks was 2.5 in 2014. 

It's easy to see why teams will fall in love with Armstead, as he's a freak athlete at 6'7" and 285 pounds with the ability to play in a 4-3 or 3-4 base defense. 

One anonymous general manager told Albert Breer of NFL.com before the College Football Playoff that Armstead had the potential to jump up draft boards with a strong performance.

"No. 9 (Armstead) is extremely gifted," the GM said. "He has first-round talent, no doubt. The more he shows us in the playoff game, the better chance he has. But he's a 6'8", 290-pound freak."

McShay's blurb about Armstead does note he's better against the run than the pass at this stage of his career. The Falcons had all sorts of issues on defense last year regardless if it was against the run or pass. They allowed 118.4 yards per game on the ground and a league-worst 21 rushing touchdowns, per ESPN.com.

The Falcons may end up having to replace two defensive linemen, as Kroy Biermann and Osi Umenyiora are both free agents. New head coach Dan Quinn knows the value of a strong defensive line after spending the last two years in Seattle. 

Right now, the eighth pick still feels high for Armstead. When he gets in front of scouts with those measurables and athleticism, it might end up being too low. 

The Running Back Surprise

John Bazemore/Associated Press

The fact that McShay has two running backs going in the first round would be shocking on its own, but sending Todd Gurley to Seattle is fascinating on multiple levels. 

First, Gurley is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in November. If there is a silver lining to his injury, it was that it was a clean tear with no damage to the other major ligaments (MCL, PCL). He's going to be five months removed from surgery when the draft rolls around. 

Teams will be able to look at his medical records to determine how comfortable they are drafting him, so it's not out of the question that Gurley goes in the first round. 

The Seahawks would be an interesting landing spot for Gurley because they would seem to be set with Marshawn Lynch. However, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com came up with a scenario that could make sense for the team.

"The Seahawks could use a luxury pick on a Marshawn Lynch clone in Gurley," Brooks wrote. "Although he could need a redshirt year to get fully healthy, the Georgia star could give Pete Carroll the power runner he covets to pound the ball between the tackles."

McShay also brought up the topic of Lynch's rumored extension talks with Seattle, saying "I'll believe that when I see it."

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported before the Super Bowl that the Seahawks were deep in negotiations with Lynch about a lucrative extension to keep him with the team beyond 2015, when his current deal expires:

"

The deal is believed to include more than $10 million for Lynch in the 2015 season alone. Lynch currently is slated to make $5 million in 2015, the final year of what originally was a four-year, $31 million deal.

The Seahawks believe that Lynch, who has rushed for at least 1,200 yards in each of the past four seasons, has outplayed his contract, sources say. They want to reward him for his work.

"

While wanting to reward players for their past work is admirable, it's also a foolish way to conduct business. As great as Lynch has been, he plays a position where players seem to hit a wall at a young age. 

Lynch is going to be 30 years old by the time the 2016 season starts, presumably when an extension would kick in if he agrees to terms with the Seahawks. He's already got 2,220 rushing attempts under his belt if you include the postseason, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. 

Plus, the Seahawks will eventually have to pay Russell Wilson before his deal expires after next season. That's a lot of money being thrown around for a team that's already locked up many of its defensive stars like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and K.J. Wright. 

Gurley may seem like an odd choice on the surface for Seattle, but the more you dive into it, the smarter it looks.