NFL Draft 2015: Opening-Round Order and Predictions After Scouting Combine

Now the NFL hits a holding pattern. 

Sure, there will be splotches of pro days here and there around the country, but for the most part this is the time of year things hit a quiet period—at least concerning draft matters.

It's also a good time to fully digest the events in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. Overall, it's a rather positive event unless a prospect crashed and burned, so dissecting how the fresh first-round outlook should be constructed is more difficult than ever.

Below is a look at the order as it stands for now, although plenty of predictable chatter in the coming months will suggest that it will change. So too will the stock of most prospects involved, but for now, it reflects lessons dished out in Indianapolis on a global stage.

2015 NFL Draft Order and Predictions

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
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	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
8	Atlanta Falcons	Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
9	New York Giants	La'el Collins, OL, LSU
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	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
14	Miami Dolphins	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
15	San Francisco 49ers	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
16	Houston Texans	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
17	San Diego Chargers	A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF
19	Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo)	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
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	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
27	Dallas Cowboys	Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
28	Denver Broncos	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
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

Opening-Round Predictions

Randy Gregory Recovers

Believe it or not, all hope is not lost for Nebraska's Randy Gregory.

Yes, Clemson's Vic Beasley blew up the combine. Kentucky's Alvin Dupree is a freak of nature. Florida's Dante Fowler Jr. is as versatile and personable as it gets.

It hurts a tad that Gregory weighed in at 6'5" and 235 pounds. That's a thin frame, although he ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash and repped 225 pounds 24 times on the bench press.

Gregory can still fight to be top dog, though.

As it turns out, the gross overexaggerations can come to a close right now. According to Bryan Fischer of NFL.com, the man formerly considered the top pass-rusher in the class was sick enough to make a hospital visit before the combine:

CBS Sports' Dane Brugler has it on good authority that NFL teams are not all that concerned about his weight, either:

If all of this is the case, most of it will come to light by the time Gregory hits a pro day, health provided.

Really, his numbers at the combine given his weight and bout with sickness are not all that bad, either. So long as Gregory hits full strength before the draft and the resulting numbers mesh well with film, he's still a lock to be the first rusher off the board.

Maxx Williams Sneaks Into the First Round

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Remember the two-tight end fad that swept the NFL for a few years? 

Trick question, it's pretty much a thing of the past, although a very weak 2015 class does not help matters.

Leading the way this year is Minnesota's Maxx Williams, a fine prospect who projects well at the next level. He just picked a bad draft class to join considering it is so deep on receiving weapons at other positions and pass-rushers—two things that put him in danger of falling out of the first round.

Williams put on a show in Indianapolis, coming in at 6'4" and 249 pounds, running an impressive 4.78 40-yard-dash and posting a 34.5" vertical jump.

Even better, Williams aced all of the drills and looked like one of the most natural catchers in the class. Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter concurs:

It's also worth noting that Williams was one of the more notable personalities at the podium, something that figures to translate to the private interviews with teams, per Brugler:

Where Williams falls all comes down to value on the board.

A prospect of his size and athleticism, as well as sure hands that make him an instant contributor, means not every team will be able to take a pass on the draft's lone notable tight end.

Landon Collins, The Lone Safety

Williams won't be the only player who is the lone first-round pick at his position. 

Landon Collins, Alabama's field general this past season, is the top safety in a very weak class. It's not saying much, that is until one views the film or his impressive combine performance.

Collins is a monster of an athlete who uses his 6'0", 228-pound frame to hit players like a freight train. Despite the size, his 4.53 40-yard dash at the combine makes him a stunning athlete with a rare size-speed combination.

A regular in first-round talk before the combine, Collins did nothing short of solidify that status. ESPN's Todd McShay put it best, as captured by the SEC Network on Twitter:

There were whispers before the combine that Collins is a bit of a one-dimensional player who plays better in the box against the run as opposed to dropping back as a pass defender, something that would obviously diminish his value at the pro level.

The combine slightly throws this narrative out the window, although further strong showings for NFL teams on the path to the draft certainly won't hurt. 

Collins is too rare a prospect from a physical standpoint to fall out of the first round, so look for a needy team to pull the trigger outside of the top 15.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.