2015 NFL Mock Draft: Bold Predictions for Most Underrated Prospects

Every draft has a group of players who will be overlooked and drafted later than their career accomplishments suggest they should have been. If general managers had crystal balls, this wouldn't happen. Unfortunately, the NFL's brain trust isn't equipped with future-telling devices.

Many of these players will be selected in the later rounds, but I'm willing to bet at least three of them will be taken in the mid-to-late first round. This mock draft will spotlight three players who will have teams kicking themselves for passing on them and will cause fanbases to lament management in years to come.

The spotlighted players' names will be highlighted in the table below. Deeper analysis on each player is written below.

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

Todd Gurley

Running backs get no respect in the NFL these days—until they become stars. Barring injury, that's what Todd Gurley is going to be. The injury concern is a real one, considering he missed time as a sophomore in 2013 and tore his ACL as a junior in 2014.

Any team that drafts him will be hoping Gurley is more Willis McGahee than Marcus Lattimore. McGahee recovered from a serious knee injury he suffered in college to ultimately rush for 8,474 yards in a 10-year pro career. He did sit out his entire first season, but McGahee only missed 18 of 160 games in his career.

Lattimore was gruesomely injured in 2012 while at South Carolina. He would ultimately retire in 2014 after failing to regain his pre-injury form.

Were it not for Gurley's injury, we'd probably be looking at him as a top-15 pick—which is still beneath him from a talent standpoint. As it is, he'll likely be selected in the bottom quarter of the first round. Gurley's combination of speed, size, agility and passion is what makes for a superstar running back.

At 6'1", 222 pounds, Gurley checks out as an NFL prospect physically. Were it not for his injury, I believe he would have been one of the standouts at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Before he was injured in 2014, Gurley was averaging a stellar 7.4 yards per carry. Considering much of that production came against SEC defenses, Gurley put up those numbers against some of the best defenses in college football.

The scary thing is, he's only 20 years old and won't even be legal until August. If he remains healthy, he'll be one of the best running backs in the NFL for the next five to seven years. 

Jaelen Strong

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Bleacher Report's Matt Miller praises Jaelen Strong's hands, and there's reason B/R's super scout compliments the Arizona State Sun Devils' grip.

Of all the wide receiver prospects in this draft, none are as sure-handed and deadly when it comes to jump balls. Strong's catch area is ridiculous, and if he gets his mitts on the ball, he usually hauls it in.

In two years of football with the Sun Devils, Strong hauled in 157 receptions for 2,287 yards and 17 touchdowns. That's serious production in the Pac-12. Right now, prospects like the Alabama Crimson Tide's Amari Cooper, West Virginia Mountaineers' Kevin White and even the Louisville Cardinals' DeVante Parker are considered superior in the eyes of some experts.

Strong may not be as flashy, but there's something to be said about a 6'2", 217-pound receiver with a 42" vertical and remarkable hands. Even if he doesn't enter the NFL as the top route runner in the draft, that's perhaps the most fixable flaw a receiver can have.

Strong is blessed with what you can't teach. In five years, he and Cooper will be the most productive receivers to come out of the first round.

Eric Kendricks

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The draft value of inside linebackers is to defense what the draft value for running backs is to offense. Just like ball-carriers, inside linebackers aren't celebrated until they become stars. The UCLA Bruins' Eric Kendricks is not only an inside linebacker prospect, but a slightly undersized one at that.

At 6'0", Hendricks is a little shorter than what would be considered ideal, but he's long on heart and game speed. Despite running an average 4.61 40-yard dash at the combine, Kendricks plays fast on the field, and he's a leader.

In the right defense—especially one with formidable defensive tackles in front of him—Kendricks will shoot gaps and defend the pass in the zone as well as any linebacker in the draft.