NFL Draft 2015: Complete 1st-Round Mock Draft and Teams to Watch

Welcome to the eye of the storm that is the NFL offseason.

The first heavy wave of player movement comes during the initial few days of the free-agency period, as teams pony up massive amounts of cash to land superstar players who can make an immediate impact like Ndamukong Suh or role players who can fill areas of need like Eddie Royal.

The next heavy wave of headlines comes during the NFL draft when teams try to restock the cupboard with depth, youth and talent.

For now, we wait, as teams are still evaluating college prospects and combing over their own rosters and looking for areas of need to fill in anticipation of the draft. With that in mind, here is a look at a complete mock draft for the first round, as well as some particularly intriguing teams that could go a number of different directions on draft day.

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

Tennessee Titans (No. 2 Overall Pick) 

This is far from a guarantee, but let’s just say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Jameis Winston with their first pick. That leaves the Tennessee Titans with a choice—Marcus Mariota or another player (most likely a defensive one).

Zach Mettenberger is still young, but it’s difficult to call him a franchise quarterback given his production thus far in his career. That may not be completely fair since he has only played seven games in his career, but he didn’t exactly look the part in that small sample size.

Mariota is a rare talent who won the Heisman Trophy and led his Oregon Ducks to an appearance in the national championship game with a combination of electric speed and timely throws. Fast-paced offense or not, it takes an incredible player to rack up 4,454 passing yards, 770 rushing yards and 58 total touchdowns in one season. 

The Titans are also looking into the quarterback spot for this draft, as Albert Breer of NFL.com noted:

However, Tennessee was an abysmal 31st against the run last year and needs to improve on the defensive side. Between Leonard Williams, Randy Gregory and a handful of other defenders, there are defensive options with the No. 2 pick in this draft.

Whether the Titans choose Mariota or a defender will send shock waves throughout the rest of the draft, as Mariota could fall to the New York Jets at No. 6 or perhaps much further, a la Aaron Rodgers. There is plenty riding on this No. 2 pick, which makes the Titans one of the most intriguing teams to watch in the draft.

Chicago Bears (No. 7 Overall Pick)

The Chicago Bears are particularly interesting in this draft because they need to shore up a number of different areas and have a few options at those positions with the No. 7 pick.

For one, the loss of wide receiver Brandon Marshall is significant, even if they did sign the aforementioned Royal. Royal is more of a slot option than anything else, and he is not going to replicate Marshall’s physicality and prowess for jump balls in the end zone. Perhaps the Bears will look toward Alabama’s Amari Cooper or West Virginia’s Kevin White to replace Marshall.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports noted an interesting connection along those lines:

Still, the Bears need defense if they have any hope of sniffing the playoffs in 2015. The once-proud Monsters of the Midway finished 31st in the NFL in scoring defense and 30th in total defense. The run defense was mediocre at best (17th), the pass defense was atrocious (30th) and there was rarely a pass rush on the edge.

Chicago can address these concerns with a number of pass-rushers who could be available, such as Gregory, Shane Ray, Vic Beasley or Dante Fowler, a run-stuffer like Danny Shelton or even a safety to help against the pass in Landon Collins (even though it already signed Antrel Rolle this offseason).

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Then there is the headline-making option of taking a chance on Mariota if he fell to No. 7. After all, how much trust does the new Chicago brass have in Jay Cutler as the long-term answer at quarterback? 

The Bears need to revamp a handful of areas to be more competitive in 2015 and beyond. That No. 7 pick will be one of the more fascinating ones in the entire draft.

New Orleans Saints (No. 13 Overall Pick)

It has been a busy offseason for the New Orleans Saints, and how they respond to it in the draft promises to be an interesting storyline.

On offense, they lost superstar tight end Jimmy Graham and signed running back C.J. Spiller. What’s more, quarterback Drew Brees is 36 years old and probably doesn’t have many years of All-Pro type of production remaining in the tank.

The question the Saints will have to ask themselves on draft day is whether they try to immediately boost the offense with a wide receiver (or even a lineman), knowing that Brees probably won’t be the face of the franchise long enough for a rebuilding effort. Or, do the Saints try to improve a defense that finished 25th in passing yards allowed and 29th in rushing yards allowed in 2014.

Lest anyone think New Orleans will completely shift course and get rid of Brees, general manager Mickey Loomis answered those questions, via Jim Corbett of USA Today: “Anybody who thinks we're trading Drew Brees, that's just not true." 

Ultimately, this pick will boil down to offense and whether the Saints will try to help Brees make another run in the twilight of his career or bolster a weak defense. It will be worth keeping an eye on come draft day.

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