2015 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions and Rising Impact Prospects

There are names everyone knows in the NFL draft. The sport is so big and draft analysis so prevalent on various platforms that it's hard for anyone to sneak up on fans, yet it does happen. With most evaluations done ahead of April 30, the buzz for rising prospects is starting to increase. 

Even with so many mock drafts around the Internet suggesting teams are looking in a specific direction, it's also possible some franchises are just blowing smoke to throw off another club. Some staffs will fall in love with a name no one saw coming. 

If you go back to look at many of the recent first-round draftees for New England or Seattle, for example, not many are names fans could recall off the top of their heads. That feeling of uncertainty and sense of anticipation is what makes the draft such an event. 

Here's how things are likely to shake out in the first round of this year's draft, followed by a closer look at some of the late-rising stars whose names will get called sooner than originally expected. 

Pick	Team	Player
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Williams, DE, USC
4	Oakland Raiders	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
5	Washington	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
6	New York Jets	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
7	Chicago Bears	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
8	Atlanta Falcons	Dante Fowler, DE, Florida
9	New York Giants	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
10	St. Louis Rams	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
11	Minnesota Vikings	Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF
12	Cleveland Browns	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
13	New Orleans Saints	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
14	Miami Dolphins	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
15	San Francisco 49ers	Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon
16	Houston Texans	La'el Collins, OT, LSU
17	San Diego Chargers	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
19	Cleveland Browns (Acquired from Buffalo)	Vic Beasley, LB, Clemson
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
23	Detroit Lions	Carl Davis, DT, Iowa
24	Arizona Cardinals	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
25	Carolina Panthers	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
26	Baltimore Ravens	Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
27	Dallas Cowboys	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
28	Denver Broncos	Cameron Erving, C, Florida State
29	Indianapolis Colts	Landon Collins, S, Alabama
30	Green Bay Packers	Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
31	New Orleans Saints (Acquired from Seattle)	Eli Harold, LB, Virginia
32	New England Patriots	D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida

Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

It seemed to be just a matter of time before teams got wind of Breshad Perriman. The Central Florida star has tremendous height and weight at 6'2" and 212 pounds, but his stock shot through the roof at his pro day. 

Per Gil Brandt of NFL.com, Perriman ran a sub 4.3-second 40-yard dash in front of scouts on March 25:

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Perriman (6-foot-1 3/4, 212 pounds) was clocked between 4.19 and 4.27 seconds in the 40, but the official times being forwarded along to teams are 4.24 and 4.27. He had a 36 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-7 broad jump. He did 18 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Perriman -- who has 32-inch arms and 9 5/8-inch hands -- caught the ball better than expected during his positional workout. Some people thought that he didn't have very good hands, but you didn't see that today in his workout. 

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There are certain players whose performance in shorts warrants consideration for the first round. It helps that Perriman's production in college reflects what happened in his workout. The junior star had 1,044 yards and nine touchdowns on 50 receptions in 2014. 

With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke noted that Perriman is going to have a lot in common with Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Titanic (before the ship went down):

Even though that's clearly a joke, Perriman is going to be that player whose name gets called on April 30 sooner than most of the optimistic projections think. The NFL is driven by quarterbacks and wide receivers capable of making big plays. 

Perriman isn't a finished project, by any means, needing more consistency with his hands and routes, but there aren't many players in the draft more capable of running a straight line and making a play deep down the field. 

Amari Cooper and Kevin White are the top two receiver prospects in this class, likely to be taken before the top-10 picks come off the board. Perriman, along with Louisville's DeVante Parker, is a strong third option for teams in need of receiver help after that. 

Parker goes one pick ahead of Perriman in this mock because he's more polished overall, but Perriman's upside makes him intriguing as the third wideout off the board. 

Carl Davis, DT, Iowa

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

This is a solid draft for defensive tackles, particularly in the first round. Danny Shelton, Eddie Goldman and Malcom Brown all seem like locks to go early, but the big name to watch is Carl Davis. 

An Iowa product, Davis has seen his stock slowly begin to rise throughout the process. He's not a lock to go in the first 32 picks but may end up being better than those other top names. 

One thing that separates Davis from Goldman, Shelton and Brown is his pass-rushing potential. While those top three are terrific against the run, they don't create pressure against the quarterback easily. Davis is the opposite, as noted by Dane Brugler of CBS Sports:

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Excellent blend of size, strength and athleticism. Plays with excellent base strength and isn't an easy player to move, handling double-teams well and not allowing himself to be swallowed up by blockers.

Has a strong upper body to stack-and-shed with power to control blocks and force the issue, showing accurate hand placement to latch-and-toss. He is surprisingly light on his feet, closing quickly when he locates and has a lane.

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The downside for Davis is considerable, as he isn't always consistent and tends to get beaten by weaker linemen in running situations. At 6'5" and 320 pounds, the Iowa standout should be an imposing force no one wants to go up against. 

Depending on how things shake out in the first round, Davis could end up taking over for Ndamukong Suh in Detroit. Based on his choice of attire and place of birth, per Justin Rogers of MLive.com, that may not be the worst idea:

It makes too much sense that it's where Davis is slotted in this mock draft. He's got a lot of work ahead of him to prove worthy of such a high selection, but the raw ingredients are there for the young man to be a longtime NFL starter.

Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

If there is a litmus test for inside linebackers in the 2015 draft, Eric Kendricks is the one who will be examined. He's an athletic freak with tremendous speed, vision and instincts to make plays all over the field, which is essential for an inside player. 

Yet there are going to be plenty of teams that drop Kendricks because he only measured in at 6'0" and 232 pounds at the combine. No one will dispute the UCLA star is light for a linebacker, but he's not so small that a new diet and workout plan with a pro team can't fix it.

Plus, Kendricks is one of those guys who has a knack for finding the ball. Look at this play against Virginia, via B.J. Kissel of KCChiefs.com:

It's possible that Kendricks may end up as a pass-coverage specialist, which isn't ideal for an inside linebacker, but this pass-happy league certainly provides more opportunities than in the past. 

To put things another way, instead of going through all the scouting jargon, let me enlist the services of Bleacher Report's Luke Easterling:

No one denies that raw tools are fantastic to have. The two players already discussed in this piece, Perriman and Davis, have tools that teams can drool over for the next three weeks. Kendricks doesn't have explosive tools, but he makes up for it with present ability on the field. 

Kendricks isn't going to be a superstar, but he's got everything it takes to be a starting linebacker for a playoff-caliber defense for the next decade. Not many draftees can say that before taking a snap in the league. 

A team like Green Bay, which needs help at inside linebacker after parting ways with A.J. Hawk, certainly have the chances of playing for a Super Bowl with one or two more roster tweaks. Kendricks would be a nice young piece to bring in for Dom Capers' defense. 

Note: Physical measurements via NFL.com