NFL Draft 2015: Latest 1st-Round Mock Draft After Beginning of Free Agency

For the first time in a long time, NFL free agency lived up to the hype.

With so many major names on the move—and more to come—the 2015 NFL draft outlook has never been murkier. Teams that figured to make predictable moves patched those holes, and teams that missed key players have new factors to weigh in the first round.

Still, some things may remain the same. Look at the Miami Dolphins—the signing of Ndamukong Suh, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, does much to shore up a defense that ranked 24th against the rush last year. But why not go ahead and grab Danny Shelton in the first round to field one of the NFL's most formidable fronts?

That's just the beginning of the tough questions after the first salvos of free agency. For now, how things stand and the biggest impacts on the first round are 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	Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
6	New York Jets	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
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	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
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	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
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	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
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

Where Free Agency Most Impacts First Round

Philadelphia-Tennessee Trade Drama 

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Folks seem to want Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly to sell the farm to trade up and grab Oregon product Marcus Mariota. 

It fits and makes sense, even if it is a little lazy.

This desire received more momentum than ever Tuesday when the Eagles struck a deal with the St. Louis Rams involving quarterbacks Nick Foles and Sam Bradford, including picks, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

The Rams appear to have a quarterback of the future, but the Eagles, well, not so much.

Bradford is a talent, yes, but he's only played in a full 16-game season twice in his four-year career and only made seven appearances in 2013. He is also a nearly $13 million cap hit in 2015, per Spotrac.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Conventional wisdom says the Eagles will look to unload that upside and talent on the Tennessee Titans, a notion that started to make even more sense once 26-year-old quarterback Jake Locker announced his retirement Tuesday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

So there, it all comes together—the fantasy trade everybody seems to want makes sense and will come to fruition in time. 

Wait a second.

Why wouldn't Kelly test the waters with Bradford for a year? He's a quarterback who threw for 3,702 yards and 21 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in 2012. Rolling with him allows the Eagles to surrender no more assets. It also sounds as if Kelly likes what he sees, as captured by Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com:

"

When the Eagles studied him -- and they did so very, very extensively before the trade -- they saw a quarterback with special accuracy, with touch, with a big arm. A quarterback who can get the ball out quickly, who can make fast, good decisions. Bradford is, the Eagles think, a classic pocket quarterback with just enough mobility to work the pocket well and keep plays alive.

And so a deal was done on Tuesday, one that brings to Philadelphia the quarterback that head coach Chip Kelly wants. He wanted Sam Bradford. He identified Sam Bradford as a special talent who can make this offense soar.

"

Also, why wouldn't the Titans sit pretty and grab whichever quarterback falls to them at No. 2? The team may receive plenty of assets to move down, but Bradford is expensive, an injury risk and might hit the market next offseason anyway.

A deal may still come to light closer to draft day, but let's not pretend like the Eagles have a super trade in mind at the beginning of March that they will follow through with in a few months. That's why Kelly went out and obtained a quarterback he likes, on the chances everyone's dream trade falls apart on the path to the draft.

Stay tuned.

Kansas City Chiefs and Wideouts

Before free agency, one of the most obvious factors surrounding the 2015 draft was the fact the Kansas City Chiefs would use the No. 18 pick on a wideout.

After all, coach Andy Reid is an offensive guru, but he didn't look like much of one last season when his wideout corps failed to record a touchdown reception. None. Nada. Zilch.

That figures to change in a hurry, though, now that Reid sounds close to reuniting with former Eagles wideout Jeremy Maclin, per Schefter:

In fact, the only delay seems to be Maclin arriving in person to put ink to paper, per radio host John Middlekauff.

Maclin is just what the Chiefs need. Last year, he set career highs with 85 receptions for 1,318 yards and tied a career mark with 10 scores—with Mark Sanchez the main man under center. 

This addition means Reid and the Chiefs can ignore wideout in the first round. The depth chart after Maclin isn't impressive, but the 2015 wideout class is deeper than last year's historic offering, with many names sure to fall to the second round.

Five or six names may come off the board in the first round, but Breshad Perriman, Sammie Coates, Devin Smith, Nelson Agholor, Devin Funchess and more figure to be available in the second round.

With Maclin taking the top off defenses on a regular basis, a second-round rookie will have plenty of room to go to work and contribute. In the first round, Reid can now turn his attention to other problem areas.

Indianapolis Colts and Running Backs

So much for a running back coming off the board in the first round this year. 

The Indianapolis Colts were the best bet. Despite the league's top passing attack led by Andrew Luck last season, Trent Richardson was the team's leading rusher with all of 519 yards and three scores on a 3.3 per-carry average.

Most figured this would lead to the Colts picking from the best of the best the 2015 class has to offer at the position, headlined by Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon.

Instead, the Colts decided to go the experience route and ink former San Francisco 49ers mainstay Frank Gore to a contract, per Schefter:

Call it a perfect fit. It will be strange to see Gore somewhere else after a decade in San Francisco, but there's no question he is still an effective back after rushing for 1,106 yards and four touchdowns last season on a .500 team.

The Colts are smart to go this route. A rookie back can be unpredictable, whereas Gore has rushed for a minimum of 1,000 yards eight times—something a Colts back hasn't done since 2007.

With a proven contributor in the backfield, the Colts can now turn the attention toward fixing a defense that ranked 18th against the rush last season.

Gordon and others may have to wait until the second round.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of March 11. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.