NFL Mock Draft 2015: Projections for Prospects Set to Make an Instant Impact

With the NFL Scouting Combine nearly complete and the prospects poked and prodded and interviewed and tested, NFL mock drafts are likely to be tweaked and revised in the coming days.

Combine winners like Vic Beasley might rise up the board. Guys who ran slow times, lacked explosiveness or didn't show as much strength as expected could fall. 

We're still pretty far out from the NFL draft, sure, but the combine always reinforces opinions on players or shows some cracks in a player's upside.

But the combine can't show what type of impact a player will have at the next level. Sure, it can show a player's athleticism or competence in position-specific drills, but ultimately a player's true impact can only be measured by what he does on the field. 

How fast he will make that impact is another thing altogether. Maybe a player is polished and won't be intimated by the complexities of an NFL scheme. Maybe he is versatile and will help a team in a number of ways. Or maybe he is just a special talent who has all the makings of an instant stud.

Keeping that in mind, I'll take a look at a few of the players I think will make an instant impact for NFL teams after going over my entire mock draft for the first round. Enjoy this one for now—once the combine is done and dusted, the mock is almost certain to change.

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

Leonard Williams, DT, USC

Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota may be stealing all of the headlines, but the player who seems likely to hit the NFL and make the biggest impact early in his career is Leonard Williams. You simply don't see prospects like Williams every day.

One scout said as much to Josina Anderson of ESPN:

For that reason, don't be surprised to see Williams off the board in the top three picks. Williams combines athleticism, power and an easy confidence, giving him the ability to create a push in the running game but also provide interior pressure against the pass.

There are plenty of folks out there who would probably take him No. 1 overall. 

That distinction will likely go to Winston. But don't be surprised when Williams helps to dramatically improve whatever defense he winds up playing for.

Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington

USA TODAY Sports

The questions NFL teams have about Shaq Thompson generally revolve around what position he'll play at the next level. They don't revolve around whether he will make an impact, however. Folks generally agree that he'll be a player a team will want to constantly keep on the field.

Whether it be at running back, linebacker (his likely position) or safety, Thompson will make an impact.

Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer has more from Thompson and Mike Mayock of the NFL Network about Thompson's likely role at the next level:

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report adds:

Ultimately, Thompson seems likely to settle at linebacker. He probably doesn't have the pure speed to separate at the next level at running back, and while he ultimately could play a strong safety/linebacker hybrid—it would hardly be surprising to see a team basically create a position for him—linebacker seems the best fit.

Regardless, Thompson is going to make an NFL team better from Day 1 no matter where he ends up settling. The fact that he's a football player is far more important than where he ends up playing.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

For a long time, the book on young wide receivers was that it took a few years for them to adjust to the complexities of the NFL game and truly be productive at the next level.

But last season, Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins, Kelvin Benjamin and a slew of other young receivers shattered that notion. 

Part of that has to do with the fact that last year's receiving corps was historically deep and talented. But more and more, both the college and professional games are emphasizing passing, meaning that more than a few receivers hit the league fairly polished and accustomed to more sophisticated schemes.

Amari Cooper is most certainly polished. While he doesn't have the athleticism and wow factor of Kevin White, his technique and route-running is arguably better than anyone else in this draft.

Matt Bowen of Bleacher Report certainly thinks so:

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com adds:

And then there's this comparison, passed along by Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Add it all up, and it isn't hard to see Cooper making an instant impact at the next level.