2015 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions and Top Prospects' Stock Watch

A note to those not scribbling on brackets and still paying attention to the upcoming NFL draft—it's exaggeration and smokescreen season.

Pro days continue to churn along, prompting interesting storylines and comparisons such as Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion looking better than Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in throwing drills.

As far as the path to the draft goes, it's par for the course.

There's no reason to turn away from the entertainment now, as teams continue to work to cement draft boards and prospects hope to rearrange those with a jackhammer.

With so many different reports and workouts going down at once, it's important to take a step back and digest an updated mock draft. Doing so helps to keep up to date with the latest team needs, values and individual prospect fluctuations.

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	Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
4	Oakland Raiders	Leonard Williams, DL, USC
5	Washington Redskins	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
6	New York Jets	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
7	Chicago Bears	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
8	Atlanta Falcons	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
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	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
14	Miami Dolphins	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
15	San Francisco 49ers	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
16	Houston Texans	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
17	San Diego Chargers	A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
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	Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
29	Indianapolis Colts	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
30	Green Bay Packers	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
31	New Orleans Saints (via Seattle)	Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan
32	New England Patriots	Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio)

Top Prospects' Stock Watch

Vic Beasley, OLB/DE, Clemson 

The Vic Beasley hype train won't come to a stop any time soon.

Beasley exploded at the NFL Scouting Combine, running a 4.53 40-yard-dash and repping 225 pounds on the bench press 35 times, as well as ranking among the best at his position in all other athleticism drills—all while weighing in heavier than expected at 6'3" and 246 pounds.

Not content with blowing away the observers in Indianapolis, Beasley's warpath continues as he impressed NFL scouts at Clemson's pro day and beyond. According to NFL.com's Bucky Brooks, the former Tigers star is now the hottest name around:

There was great concern about Beasley before his recent tear. He returned to school despite top-10 hype in some circles last year, somewhat disappeared from the spotlight in a rough team campaign and looked too light to be effective at the pro level.

So much for all the above.

Beasley is bigger than most figured and hasn't lost speed after the weight gain. In a deep class when it comes to rushers, he's the biggest standout of the offseason, if not the biggest riser overall.

It makes for an easy decision in the top 10 for a team such as the Atlanta Falcons, owners of just 22 sacks a season ago.

Verdict: Stock up.

Jalen Collins, CB, LSU

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Ask three different people who owns the title of top corner in the 2015 class and expect to hear three different names. 

It's just one of those years for perhaps the most important position in the league after quarterback.

There's Michigan State's Trae Waynes, an elite athlete who led a top-tier defense. There's Washington's Marcus Peters, perhaps the best in class but marred with off-field concerns.

What about LSU's Jalen Collins? A bit of a surprise entrant to the class, he hit the combine at 6'1" and 203 pounds with strong numbers in the 40-yard-dash (4.48 seconds) and three-cone drill (6.77).

The performance prompted ESPN's Mel Kiper to place the Tigers star on his big board for the first time and he offered praise:

"

The measurements are definitely in his favor, as he's safely over 6-1 in a class where this new premium on length at CB is going to create a lot of disappointment, because it doesn't really exist. Collins has length, but also outstanding quickness and the ability to change directions with ease. He offers a lot of upside but the worry is the transition could be tough because he just hasn't played a ton of football. You have to be confident in your program to take him early, but you could get a steal.

"

Collins is a high-upside pick with room to grow when it comes to anticipation but a corner who won with sheer athleticism at the collegiate level is difficult to ignore.

Thanks to many traits coaching cannot teach, a team in need at the position such as Dallas—the Cowboys ranked 26th against the pass last season—won't hesitate to pull the trigger and groom a potential No. 1 corner.

Verdict: Stock up.  

Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska

Once considered a lock to come off the board in the top five, Randy Gregory's grip on the status continues to loosen. 

It started at the combine, where Gregory weighed in at a light 6'5" and 235 pounds while not standing out among the best in any drill except for the broad jump (125 inches).

The lackluster showing hurt Gregory in the minds of most, including Kiper, who dropped him from fifth to 11th on his big board.

Perhaps the biggest negative takeaway from Indianapolis was a sudden cloud of doubt surrounding his ability to stand up and play linebacker at the next level—something he attacked head on at Nebraska's pro day. For his part, Gregory thinks it worked, too, as he told NFL.com's Bryan Fischer:

"

I think it went pretty well. I think the big thing that teams wanted to see were my hips and how fluid I was in my movement. I think I showed that real well in the linebacker drills I did. I didn't do everything but I did do the cone drills I didn't do at the (NFL Scouting Combine).

Overall, I thought I had a really good day.

"

It can take quite a while for a prospect to recover his stock, though, even more so in a 2015 class loaded with talent such as Beasley and Dante Fowler Jr., among many others.

There's a silver lining, though—Gregory's stock is down now, but considering he started at the top, it's not a deep fall. If Gregory continues to change minds during visits and workouts, he won't escape a team with a serious need for an edge-rusher in the top five such as Jacksonville or Washington.

Verdict: Stock down.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of March 21. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.