2015 NFL Mock Draft: Latest Predictions and Prospects Impacted by Free Agency

As NFL free agency winds down, the impending 2015 NFL draft becomes clearer.

Meaning, the water goes from oil-spill black to muddy brown, offering brief glimpses through the veil. 

While just over a month until the big day in Chicago, much is still up in the air. Prospects are still hard at work at pro days and meeting with teams. Organizations continue to run through the paces of these events while full scouting departments crunch homework harder than a last-second cram for a college exam. 

It's an exciting time, but one that can prove difficult to track. While just for fun, mock drafts serve as an all-encompassing measure of prospect stock, team needs and more, so let's take a look.

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	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

Prospects Impacted by Free Agency

Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive tackle continues to be a mystery before each first round.

Some years, only a few come off the board. Others, any number flies off before the second round begins. 

For a prospect such as Florida State's Eddie Goldman, the mystery applies. He sits behind Leonard Williams and Danny Shelton (as most do), but also finds himself in a fight with names such as Malcom Brown, Arik Armstead, Jordan Phillips and Carl Davis.

So yes, this year's class is deep and it's tough for any one name to stand out.

Where Goldman does, though, is in his upside and versatility. He hit the combine at 6'4" and 336 pounds and is a scheme-versatile player who could man the nose in a 3-4 alignment or act as a penetrating presence in a 4-3 scheme.

As Bleacher Report's Ian Wharton points out, just because a prospect such as Goldman doesn't always flash on film is not an indicator of a lack of consistency:

NFL front offices understand part of Goldman's up-and-down film pertains to role and what his coaches asked him to do.

Other than great news there, Goldman is also a big winner of free agency. Not only did many teams lose out on Ndamukong Suh, his former team, the Detroit Lions, now have two major holes to fill up front with Nick Fairley also gone.

Look for Goldman to sneak into the first round based on the above factors.

Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It's even more difficult for wideouts to stand out this year. 

Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker and Dorial Green-Beckham lead the way, with Jaelen Strong and a hodgepodge of names fighting for the remaining scraps of first-round candidacy.

Good news for Strong—free-agency results almost guarantee a spot in the first round.

Consider a team such as the Philadelphia Eagles, which lost Jeremy Maclin to Kansas City. Or look at a team such as the Baltimore Ravens, which watched as Torrey Smith signed with the San Francisco 49ers.

The latter makes the most sense. Whereas Philadelphia can get the most out of its scheme with lesser-known names, Baltimore needs a big-play threat to help Joe Flacco and complement veteran Steve Smith.

Based on his resume, Strong has what it takes to help:

YEAR	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
2014	82	1165	14.2	10
2013	75	1122	15.0	7

Strong weighed in at 6'2" and 217 pounds at the combine and ran a 4.44 40-yard-dash, good measurements for a slick route-runner who can also high-point passes.

With big-name wideouts receiving large paydays and leaving their former teams searching for answers, Strong's blend of skills can help those teams get over the breakup in a hurry.

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

It has been quite a while since a running back came off the board in the first round of a draft, but Georgia's Todd Gurley has what it takes to break the trend. 

He just needs the right situation.

Gurley is a rare talent, perhaps a one-of-a-kind player who hasn't entered the league since perhaps Adrian Peterson, which would explain why his first-round hype continues to build, as captured by NFL Now:

"

.@MoveTheSticks says Todd Gurley might go SURPRISINGLY high in the draft: http://t.co/j5cxHUBXA6 pic.twitter.com/NxuSgbhYPb

— NFL Now (@NFLNow) March 17, 2015"

The lone issue with Gurley, which isn't an exaggeration at all—he's a complete, pro-ready back—is health, as NFL.com's Lance Zierlein concludes:

"

The rehab work and NFL Scouting Combine medicals will be extremely important for Gurley's draft stock as teams assess his potential durability as an NFL running back. He played less than 40 percent of his team's offensive snaps over the last three years, so there is plenty of tread still on the tires. Has the talent to be a top-five NFL running back, but ACL tear clouds the short-term picture.

"

Running back isn't important enough these days for most teams to take a risk on an injured back in the first round, but a team in a position of luxury such as the New England Patriots might consider pulling the trigger at the end of the round.

New England just lost Shane Vereen in free agency to the New York Giants, meaning the need is there with only LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, Jonas Gray, James White and Travaris Cadet there to compete for the starting job.

It seems like many names, but Gurley is better than all right out of the gates and acts as an every-down starter. The scenario is something to chew on as it becomes more and more probable Gurley comes off the board in the opening round next month.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of March 25. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.