NFL Draft 2015: Assessing Expert Mock Draft Analysis from Around the Web

There's a major lull in NFL action right now. The Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror, and the NFL Scouting Combine has yet to commence. At this time of year, the best way to fill the void in our football-deprived minds is to analyze the abundance of mock NFL drafts around the Web.

Many respectable mock drafts are available for our viewing pleasure; however, there are a handful of expert assessments that carry an extraordinary amount of clout. Three such experts—Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com and NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah—have recently released their pre-combine analysis.

Looking at all three mocks side by side and comparing these experts' selections is a worthwhile endeavor for any NFL fan or draft enthusiast. It paints a picture of each team's needs and differing opinions on which prospects will be available to fill those holes.

Let's take a look at the first-round outlook from each expert and assess where they agree in their selections.

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

Matt Miller's seven-round mock draft can be found at Bleacher Report.

Dane Brugler's one-round mock draft can be found at CBS Sports.

Daniel Jeremiah's one-round mock draft can be found at NFL.com.

Analyzing Consensus 1st-Round Selections

It's not often draft analysts agree on the exact prospect who will be selected by a certain team. In this instance, the only two players who went in the same position in all three expert mock drafts were Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 1 and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota to the New York Jets at No. 6.

It's pretty easy to see why the experts agreed on those two selections. The Buccaneers hold the top pick, and a recent report from Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com came equipped with a rumor that head coach Lovie Smith favored Winston over Mariota:

"

I've heard that coach Lovie Smith prefers Winston over Oregon's Marcus Mariota. When Smith chose Dirk Koetter as the Bucs' offensive coordinator over Marc Trestman, the logic was simple. Although Smith and Trestman have similar philosophies about how to run an offense, they disagreed on the quarterbacks. Trestman preferred Mariota.

Smith favors Winston and Smith is the boss.

"

It's unclear as to whether that's a smokescreen or not, but early indications are the Florida State product will go No. 1 overall.

That leaves Mariota as the only remaining quarterback with a first-round grade. The Tennessee Titans may be tempted to select the former Duck at No. 2, but they have a great need along the defensive front and are likely to fill that void while continuing to see what they have in Zach Mettenberger.

If that's the case, the next quarterback-needy team happens to be the New York Jets at No. 6.

While those are the only two players the three experts agree on, there are several other instances where they all drafted players of the same position to a certain team.

At No. 4 overall, each analyst selected a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders. This team began to make strides late in the season with rookie quarterback Derek Carr at the helm. Oakland must provide Carr with a true No. 1 option for his continued development.

Another team in dire need of a wide receiver is the Minnesota Vikings. Each expert projected a pass-catcher to them at No. 11 overall. Miller saw Alabama standout Amari Cooper falling out of the top 10, while the other two opted to reunite quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with DeVante Parker.

Continuing the wide receiver trend, each analyst predicted a wide receiver to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 18 overall. While they all selected different prospects, the three pass-catchers have one thing in common: Each is a big outside threat with a huge catch radius. That's something the Chiefs have been missing for quite some time.

The Cincinnati Bengals desperately need help within their linebacker corps, and the experts all agreed on that notion. Cincinnati's depth was tested last season, as a rash of injuries struck the team. Making matters worse, middle linebacker Rey Maualuga is slated to hit the open market this year. The Bengals will need to address this area in a hurry.

It's no surprise offensive tackles were slated to the Carolina Panthers in all three mock drafts. Last year, quarterback Cam Newton was given a nice target in Kelvin Benjamin, but the team still needed to address its deficiencies across the offensive line. After a year full of quarterback hurries and errant passes, don't be surprised if the Panthers finally snag a lineman in this year's draft.

Finally, the Green Bay Packers were given an inside linebacker in each mock. The team's linebacker corps was a mess in 2014, and it was forced to slide the versatile Clay Matthews inside to mask the weakness. While Matthews flourished, his natural position is on the outside, so selecting a promising inside linebacker will bring balance back to the unit.