NFL Draft 2015: Full 1st-Round Mock Draft and Key Storylines to Watch

Even though fans mostly watch the NFL through the prism of games that happen every Sunday, all the best storylines develop in the offseason and draft. This time of year is when the best drama occurs, simply because it involves all 32 teams. 

Once the actual games start, everything happens in a vacuum. Everyone gets lost in their own world, while a universal setting like the draft brings attention from all fans. The draft is the greatest storyline of the offseason, especially in an unpredictable year like this one. 

Inching closer to the start of this year's draft, the top of the class is coming into focus. Tampa Bay owns the No. 1 pick and has already gotten rid of Josh McCown, so barring some miracle, a quarterback seems like the obvious pick. 

Yet everything after that is as compelling as anything that could happen on a field. Tennessee certainly needs a quarterback, though Zach Mettenberger's presence and needs at other spots make it impossible to predict with certainty what will happen. 

After you get into the spot where something unusual could happen, the rest of the draft follows suit. Whatever happens, it's all compelling. Here's a look at the latest first-round mock draft, followed by a closer examination of the storylines that are expected to unfold starting on April 30. 

Pick	Team	Player
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Leonard Williams, DE, USC
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
4	Oakland Raiders	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
5	Washington	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
6	New York Jets	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
7	Chicago Bears	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
8	Atlanta Falcons	Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon
9	New York Giants	Dante Fowler, DE, Florida
10	St. Louis Rams	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
11	Minnesota Vikings	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
12	Cleveland Browns	Devante Parker, WR, Louisville
13	New Orleans Saints	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
14	Miami Dolphins	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
15	San Francisco 49ers	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
16	Houston Texans	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
17	San Diego Chargers	T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State
19	Cleveland Browns (Acquired from Buffalo)	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Landon Collins, S, Alabama
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
23	Detroit Lions	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
24	Arizona Cardinals	Carl Davis, DT, Iowa
25	Carolina Panthers	La'el Collins, OT, LSU
26	Baltimore Ravens	Cameron Erving, C, Florida State
27	Dallas Cowboys	Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
28	Denver Broncos	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
29	Indianapolis Colts	Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
30	Green Bay Packers	Denzel Perryman, LB, Miami
31	Seattle Seahawks	Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
32	New England Patriots	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri

Who Will Be the First WR Taken?

For a long time, Alabama's Amari Cooper was the No. 1 receiver in this draft. That may still be the case for some, but it's clear that West Virginia's Kevin White has ascended to a spot where there is a debate worth having. 

My mock has White as the first receiver off the board to Oakland at No. 4, which seems likely given what we know about his skills and how the Raiders love players who "win" the scouting combine. 

Yet one thing that's gotten lost in White's workout, which included a 4.35 40-yard dash and terrific hands in gauntlet drills, is Cooper looked really good too. Here's what Dane Brugler of CBS Sports had to say about the Alabama star in his latest big-board rankings:

"Arguably the safest prospect in the 2015 class," Brugler wrote, "Cooper runs polished routes, knows how to get open and his 4.42 40-yard dash confirms he has more than enough speed for the NFL."

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The key word in that analysis is "safest." Whether or not Cooper turns into a star, there's almost a stigma with the word safe in a draft. Fans want ceiling and potential, which is where White comes into play once again. 

Even before the combine, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock declared that he had White as his top receiver in this class because of the ceiling, via Natalie Pierre of AL.com:

"

My number one wide receiver is Kevin White from West Virginia. I think I know what Amari Cooper is, what a great football player he is. But I have Kevin White above him because I think he's got a higher ceiling. I think his potential is greater. He's 6-foot-3, 219 pounds, but I want to know what he runs. I have all over my notes that he's a 4.5-flat guy (in the 40-yard dash).

"

Ceiling, especially in the top 10, is crucial. Cooper may step in right away and be a strong No. 2 wideout for his entire career. White may end up as a No. 1 in two or three years, but he needs to clean up some rough edges in his route running before getting there. 

It's impossible to say that White or Cooper would be a better option as the first receiver taken, but the allure of what White can be will trump what Cooper will be. 

What to Do with the RBs?

No position is harder to project in the draft than running back. One term that gets associated with that position is devalued, though that's not exactly right. Teams still covet a dominant runner in the back field, but salary-cap constraints limit how much love they get shown. 

There are a lot of teams that would love to have a player like Marshawn Lynch, DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy or Le'Veon Bell. A more accurate representation of how running backs are treated is undervalued relative to where they get drafted. 

For example, on the list of players above, only Lynch was taken in the first round. McCoy, despite running for 1,319 yards last year, is set to be traded to Buffalo when the new league year begins on March 10, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The debate around this year's running backs involves Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley. It's been three years since a player at the position went in the first round. If that streak is going to end this year, Gordon is the safest bet to be the player to do so. 

NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano conjured up a scenario for Gordon that would seem to make sense based on the pending McCoy deal:

Philadelphia at No. 20 appears to be where the market for running backs starts, followed by Detroit (No. 23), Arizona (No. 24), Baltimore (No. 26), Dallas (No. 27) and Indianapolis (No. 29). Seattle at No. 31 is a dark horse depending on whether Lynch both decides to play and can agree on a long-term extension. 

Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

There are plenty of openings for running backs to be taken early in this draft, though another problem for players like Gordon and Gurley is depth. Names like Tevin Coleman, Ameer Abdullah and Duke Johnson figure into the second-round mix. 

Gurley has another caveat in that he's still recovering from ACL surgery in November that could prevent him from starting this season on time, though Dr. James Andrews has said the former Georgia star is ahead of schedule in his rehab. 

It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if another year passed without a running back going in the first 32 picks, but there are enough teams looking for help at the spot to think at least one of them will pull the trigger on someone. 

All About That Pass Rush

When the NFL transitioned into a quarterback-driven league, teams needed to change the way they built their defenses. More athletes started playing on the defensive line, providing a different dynamic to what a pass-rush looks like. 

Never has that been more evident than with the 2015 class. The depth of pass-rushers this year is as strong as it has been in a long time, with the top boasting five players who warrant inclusion among the top five overall players. 

Back in November, Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports wrote that this draft was shaping up to be the year of the pass-rusher:

"

Right now, based on some rough sketches, we could be looking at somewhere in the range of 6-8 pure edge rushers capable of going in Round 1, and perhaps as many as 12 who end up in the first two rounds. If you throw in some fine interior rushers, too, that number could grow even more.

Although there might not be a Jadeveon Clowney-level prospect in this year’s class, there are a few edge rushers and one interior rusher capable of cracking the first 10 selections.

"

As you can see from this projection, there are five pure edge-rushers taken in the first nine picks and six in the top 13. 

Leonard Williams is the first one coming off the board, at No. 2 to Tennessee. The only scenario where that might change is if the Titans have a way of getting Jameis Winston, because as Adam Schein of NFL.com noted, this franchise needs a lot of help beyond the quarterback:

"

Quick quiz: Name five members of the Tennessee Titans.

I thought so.

The Titans have morphed into the most nondescript, innocuous team in the NFL. They need juice. They need players. And the reality is, they cannot rule anyone -- or anything -- out when it comes to what they do with the No. 2 overall selection.

"

Having a franchise quarterback can cover a lot of wounds—imagine how bad Indianapolis would be without Andrew Luck—but those don't exactly grow on trees. The Titans' focus has to be on the best player available regardless of position. 

After Williams is gone, high-ceiling names like Randy Gregory, Arik Armstead and Dante Fowler are going to come off the board quickly. Shane Ray and Vic Beasley are undersized outside linebackers who have displayed a unique ability to get after the quarterback. 

Being able to attack the opposing quarterback is almost as important as having a quarterback. That's why there are going to be a lot of edge-rushers coming off the board in a hurry.