NFL Mock Draft 2015: 1st-Round Projections and Top Prospects' Stock Watch

Nobody told NFL draft prospects it would be easy.

The life of a potential first-round pick is akin to a minefield—one wrong move and everything comes crashing down.

To survive and move upward on the stock market, prospects must remain pristine off the field and show well in workouts. Those things are just events in gym shorts sans a live-game environment, but stock changes will occur nonetheless.

As the NFL realm prepares for the combine, significant stock fluctuations seem to occur each day. A dip is not the end of the world, nor is a rise a good time to take the foot off the pedal.

Regardless, the stock market is open, and everyone should digest the early returns before things get crazy in Indianapolis.

2015 NFL Mock Draft

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

Highlighting Top Pre-Combine Stock Movements

Stock Up: Marcus Peters, CB, Washington

Sometimes all a prospect needs to do is own up to a mistake and show growth. 

Marcus Peters is the perfect case study to monitor.

By now, those who keep a keen eye on the draft know about the Washington product. A top-tier corner and easily the No. 1 in the class, Peters was dismissed from the team this past season for alleged altercations with the coaching staff.

He recently came clean with USA Today's Tom Pelissero:

"

I don't blame (UW coach Chris Petersen) for anything. All I can blame is myself, because I made those decisions and I have to live with them. Now I'll have to man up and I've got to answer these questions in interviews, and all I can do is sit there and answer truthfully and honestly.

"

Everybody knows Peters faces a difficult task at the combine when it comes to interviews, probably only second in difficulty to Mr. Jameis Winston.

The very public admission after plenty of silence is a step in the right direction for Peters as stories that vouch for his character continue to seep out, as Fox Sports' Peter Schrager notes:

On the field, Peters can play aggressive at the line in man or drop into zone and read a quarterback's eyes.

When it comes to athleticism, few at his position or overall will match up well at the combine.

Overall, the corner class this year is weak, which does help Peters. It's easier for teams to pass on a potential risk when there are safer alternatives (which is what probably makes the Winston-Marcus Mariota debate so interesting), but in this case, there is no better talent than Peters.

Stock Down: Landon Collins, SS, Alabama

USA TODAY Sports

Landon Collins, Nick Saban's field general last season, is not a bad prospect. He hasn't done anything wrong. He isn't injured. He didn't flip a table at onlookers during an interview or tweet something ridiculous.

But he does play safety.

For all the chatter about dying positions in the NFL, it is easy to forget that safety ranks right up there in terms of draft importance. In other words, it's hardly important anymore, especially when the top player at the position is more of a two-down, in-the-box thumper who plays the run better than the pass.

As CBS Sports Dane Brugler points out, Collins is absolutely starter material:

Look back to recent mock drafts, though, and you'll find that Collins in recent weeks was the victim of a massive nosedive.

Take ESPN's Mel Kiper, for example, who admits that Collins' drop from No. 7 to No. 22 concerns the position:

"

In my previous mock, I had Collins going at No. 7 overall to the Bears. My evaluation of him hasn't changed at all. But in most cases when you're drafting in Round 1, you're looking for a player who can come in and contribute, if not start, pretty early, so players rise and fall all the time on fit.

"

Collins can climb back up out of the hole. Interviews need to go well, but more importantly, he must show onlookers at the combine and workouts that he is athletic enough to drop into coverage and display anticipation to better counter the pass.

At worst, Collins' stock will likely hover right around where Kiper has him. There is a way for him to jump way back up boards, though, if the next few weeks and change go his way.

Stock Up: Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF

USA TODAY Sports

It seems each and every week the NFL realm falls in and out of love with wideouts who may challenge for a first-round slot. 

A few weeks ago, it was Auburn's Sammie Coates after ridiculous measurements at the Senior Bowl.

Now it is Breshad Perriman's turn.

Who? Learn the name of UCF's top wideout, because the Arabia Mountain High School product is the perfect example of what happens when scouts find more free time and dig into those lesser-known names.

NFL Network's Gil Brandt started the hype train:

Call it full steam ahead, because even Kiper's mock above touts Perriman at No. 15 overall to San Francisco. 

What's the big deal? Perriman comes in at 6'3" and 214 pounds and averaged better than 20 yards per catch last year while scoring nine times despite a spotty quarterback situation. He's a big-play threat with average hands and a proven family tree to boot.

For the stock to remain at its new high, Perriman needs to measure well and above all else show off a strong catch rate at the combine. He's a sneaky vertical threat who will remind many of Dwayne Bowe, who has plenty of drop issues of his own.

All it takes is one strong showing for Perriman to cement himself as a first-round talent, though.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. ET. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.