NFL Mock Draft 2015: Top Prospects' Stock Watch and Projections for 1st Round

Believe it or not, the path to the 2015 NFL draft is still alive and well.

Free agency has a way of consuming the spotlight as Ndamukong Suh does multiple blockers, which makes sense as the globe awaits to see the chaos he and other big names, such as DeMarco Murray, cause on the open market.

Despite the intrigue, pro days around the country continue to unfold with silent disregard for the impending free-agency storm.

Those spectacles impact the draft stock of many first-round prospects, regardless if the globe is aware or not. With a few of the early events in the books, here is a look at how the first round stands.

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	Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
6	New York Jets	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
7	Chicago Bears	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
8	Atlanta Falcons	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
9	New York Giants	La'el Collins, OL, LSU
10	St. Louis Rams	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
11	Minnesota Vikings	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
12	Cleveland Browns	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
13	New Orleans Saints	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
14	Miami Dolphins	Danny Shelton, DT, 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	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
19	Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo)	Arik Armstead, DE/OLB, Oregon
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Landon Collins, SS, Alabama
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Owamagbe Odighizuwa, OLB, UCLA
23	Detroit Lions	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
24	Arizona Cardinals	Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia
25	Carolina Panthers	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
26	Baltimore Ravens	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
27	Dallas Cowboys	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
28	Denver Broncos	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
29	Indianapolis Colts	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
30	Green Bay Packers	Carl Davis, DL, Iowa
31	Seattle Seahawks	Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
32	New England Patriots	Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota

Stock-Risers After Early Pro Days

Eli Harold, DE/OLB, Virginia

Steve Helber/Associated Press

Pass-rushers who want to break into a top-tier crop that includes Dante Fowler Jr., Vic Beasley and others need to put on a relentless batch of strong performances on the path to the draft.

So far so good for Virginia's Eli Harold.

Harold was a lesser-known name before the combine, where he weighed in at 6'3" and 247 pounds before measuring well in all athleticism drills.

Monday at Virginia's pro day, Harold sat on those numbers with strong performances and did enough in live drills to convince many that he only further elevated his stock. NFL.com's Gil Brandt shares the details:

Harold is still a bit light, but it's quite clear he has the sheer talent to be an effective rusher at the pro level. 

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller makes an interesting comparison that only reinforces Harold's climbing stock: 

It's nothing but a good thing to be compared to a guy who ranked as the league's No. 17 overall 4-3 defensive end last season at Pro Football Focus.

Monday was a bit of icing on the cake for Harold, who seems a lock for the late first round at this point.

Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

This year at tight end, it has never been a question of who will occupy the No. 1 slot—it's if Minnesota's Maxx Williams will come off the board in the first round. 

After his pro day, that seems a sure thing.

There, Williams saw it fit to sit on his combine numbers. Who can blame him? In Indianapolis, he showed up at 6'4" and 249 pounds before ranking among the best at his position in the 40-yard dash (4.78), vertical jump (34.5), broad jump (117) and 20-yard shuttle (4.37).

Instead, Williams focused on the drills, something that obviously paid off based on strong words by Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, as captured by NFL.com's Mike Huguenin:

"

"I think everybody knows about his athletic skill set and what he can do in the passing game," said Spielman, who also said Williams has shown improvement in his blocking.

NFL Media analysts Mike Mayock and Bucky Brooks both rate Williams as the best tight end in the 2015 NFL Draft. Williams said he himself would never claim that, but, "I want the combine and (my workouts) to show that I am considered that."

"

Call it a successful month and change for Williams, who caught 36 passes for 569 yards and eight touchdowns last season on an offense that attempted all of 254 passes to 599 rushing attempts.

Williams clearly has the size, athleticism and catch radius to contribute at the pro level for a long time, if not right out of the gates. Minnesota's pro day only reinforced the notion that he is a first-round lock.

T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

It is fair to consider offensive tackle a weak spot in this year's class. 

The top three—Brandon Scherff, Andrus Peat and La'el Collins—seem interchangeable and even come with questions as to if they would better fit on the inside as a pro.

T.J. Clemmings is the wild card.

The Pittsburgh product has little experience in the offensive trenches. He lost his job on the defensive side of things and showed well in his new job, but inexperience is something that can doom the stock of any prospect before it takes off.

Clemmings put on a show at Pittsburgh's pro day, though, as NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala points out:

It shouldn't really come as a surprise. The NFL realm knows Clemmings is a freak athlete, especially after coming in at 6'5" and 309 pounds at the combine, and registering a 20-yard shuttle of 4.54 seconds.

So far, Clemmings has provided resounding answers to the questions pro scouts have thrown his way. In an under-the-radar sort of way, he's one of the most heavily scrutinized prospects this year as organizations attempt to decide just how high his athletic upside will carry him.

For now, especially after an impressive pro day, it lands him just on the outskirts of the first round.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of March 5. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.