NFL Mock Draft 2015: Pre-Pro Day Predictions for 1st-Round Prospects

Pro days are a relentless saga that personify the lengthy, drawn-out path to the NFL draft.

The events themselves unfold over the course of a month and change and are mini NFL Scouting Combines. Scouts from around the league bustle around the country and watch as prospects work out on familiar, friendly surfaces and run drills with teammates.

It's really a time of positivity—like the combine, the only thing that will drastically change the stock of a prospect is a glaring negative performance.

Regardless, pro days give teams more to work with, as in numbers to add to an extensive file for each prospect. Before the lengthy circuit begins in earnest Monday (NFL.com provides the full slate), how the first round figures to shape up rests below.

2015 NFL Mock Draft 

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	Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia
30	Green Bay Packers	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
31	Seattle Seahawks	Carl Davis, DL, Iowa
32	New England Patriots	Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota

Critical Early Pro Days to Monitor

Auburn (March 3)

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

This year, Auburn's top name defines fringe first-round prospect.

Wide receiver Sammie Coates is one of the more interesting prospects in the nation. He wowed onlookers at the Senior Bowl and showed up at the combine at 6'1" and 212 pounds before ranking among the best at the position in the bench press (23 reps), vertical jump (41 inches), broad jump (131 inches) and 20-yard shuttle (4.06).

It's not a big secret that Coates is an explosive athlete on and off the field. Last year alone, he caught 34 passes for 741 yards and four scores, good for a whopping 21.8 yards per catch.

As Sigmund Bloom of FootballGuys.com points out, though, the main question surrounding Coates is his hands:

That pigeonholes Coates as a deep threat only right now, horrible news in a very deep class.

That is, of course, unless he shows improvement at the pro day.

His collegiate quarterback, Nick Marshall, is another reason Auburn's spectacle is so intriguing.

Marshall completed 60.8 percent of his passes last year for 2,532 yards and 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions, never mind the 798 yards and 11 scores on the ground.

Despite this, Marshall also worked as a defensive back at the combine in order to help boost his draft stock, as captured by CollegeFootball 24/7:

In short, Auburn's pro day not only features a potential first-round wideout who can crash the party, it also features a sheer athlete who can play multiple positions and certainly personifies the league's desire for as much versatility as possible.

Don't miss out on every bit of info that comes out of Auburn's showcase.

Clemson (March 5)

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Sometimes, all it takes is one prospect to make a pro day a must-see affair. 

For Clemson, that would be defender Vic Beasley.

Truthfully, Beasley's saga on the path to the draft would make Clemson's spectacle necessary viewing no matter how he performed in Indianapolis.

It certainly doesn't hurt, though, that he weighed in at 6'3" and 246 pounds before literally ranking among the best of the best in every drill, highlighted by a superb 4.53-second 40-yard dash.

The thing is, not only did Beasley show up heavier than most would have guessed, he also managed to retain the elite speed and athleticism that make him such a dangerous rusher. ESPN CollegeFootball best illustrates the impressive performance:

As ESPN Stats & Info notes, the strength-speed tandem doesn't come around often:

The key now, of course, is whether Beasley can retain these same numbers—bonus points if he is a tad heavier, too.

Clemson touts other intriguing prospects, too. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is a quality mid-round prospect, as is linebacker Stephone Anthony.

At the end of the day, though, it will be all eyes on Beasley, who holds the fate of many teams and other top prospects in his hands.

Nebraska (March 5)

Randy Gregory demands much of the attention on his lonesome in the same way Beasley does, although he has some help to put Nebraska's day over the edge. 

First of all, Gregory proved to be one of the combine's bigger disappointments, coming in at just 6'5" and 235 pounds before running a 4.64 40-yard dash.

It turns out, though, that Gregory's poor showing is justified, as explained by Bryan Fischer of NFL.com:

Translation—Nebraska's pro day is huge for Gregory, who despite the showing in Indianapolis continues to garner lofty comparisons, including one featuring last year's No. 1 overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney:

Gregory is not alone, though.

Teammate and running back Ameer Abdullah is as intriguing as it gets at a position with plenty of open slots behind leader Melvin Gordon. He weighed in at 5'9" and 205 pounds before predictably ranking among the best in a majority of the speed drills.

Abdullah may not have as much on the line as Gregory, but his elite athleticism needs to pair with an improved set of hands in order to convince NFL teams he is a quality, every-down option worth a second-round selection.

In all, Nebraska's pro day will help to figure things out right near the top of a pair of this year's more unpredictable positions.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of March 1. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.