NFL Mock Draft 2015: News on Projected 1st-Round Top Prospects

The 2015 NFL draft is less than three weeks away. While the picture surrounding this year's crop of top prospects has become a tad clearer over the past few months, it is a virtual certainty that the opening night of the draft (April 30) will still be full of surprises.

Since even one unexpected pick can set off a chain reaction of surprises, most teams can't expect the first, second or even third player on their draft boards to be available. Franchise decision-makers have to be prepared for a variety of scenarios.

This is why NFL scouts spend countless hours watching game film, conducting interviews and attending the scouting combine and individual pro days. 

With time ticking down, teams now turn to private workouts in order to cram in as much additional information about top prospects as possible. Private workouts give teams an opportunity to spend time alone with prospects, test their skills in scheme-specific drills and help determine who is a fit with a franchise and who is not.

With this in mind, let's take a look at some of the latest news surrounding top prospects and their private workouts and how it all could affect the first round of this month's draft.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Williams, DL, USC
4	Oakland Raiders	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
5	Washington Redskins	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
6	New York Jets	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
7	Chicago Bears	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
8	Atlanta Falcons	Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
9	New York Giants	DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
10	St. Louis Rams	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
11	Minnesota Vikings	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
12	Cleveland Browns	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
13	New Orleans Saints	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
14	Miami Dolphins	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
15	San Francisco 49ers	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
16	Houston Texans	Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
17	San Diego Chargers	A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Bud Dupree, OLB, Kentucky
19	Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo)	La'el Collins, OT, LSU
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Ronald Darby, CB, Florida State
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Arik Armstead, DT, Oregon
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
23	Detroit Lions	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
24	Arizona Cardinals	Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia
25	Carolina Panthers	D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
26	Baltimore Ravens	Carl Davis, DT, Iowa
27	Dallas Cowboys	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
28	Denver Broncos	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
29	Indianapolis Colts	Landon Collins, SS, Alabama
30	Green Bay Packers	Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio)
31	New Orleans Saints (via Seattle)	Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
32	New England Patriots	Owamagbe Odighizuwa, OLB, UCLA

Private Workout News

Kevin White is Drawing Plenty of Interest

Former West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White is widely considered one of the top two receivers available in this year's class, along with Alabama product Amari Cooper.

White racked up an impressive 109 receptions, 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns last season with the Mountaineers, but his physical potential suggests he could be even more productive as a pro.

White ran a scary-fast 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, which is tremendous for a guy who stands 6'3" and 215 pounds. He clearly possesses the size-speed combination that NFL teams desire and has a year's worth of elite collegiate production to back up his measurables.

Teams selecting at the top of the first round just have to determine if White is worth taking ahead of Cooper (124 receptions, 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014) or another franchise-caliber player at a different position.

Earlier this month, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that White had only one private workout scheduled. That workout was with the Tennessee Titans, who select second overall in the first round.

The Titans certainly have a need for a true No. 1 receiver, but they have an even greater need for a franchise signal-caller. Tennessee will have a chance to draft either Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston or Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, assuming one of the two is drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers first overall.

If the Titans are not completely enamored with either quarterback prospect, there is a strong chance they could trade down with a team who is. If the Titans trade with, say, the New York Jets at No. 6, White could definitely be a target. If Tennessee views him as a can't-miss prospect, he could even be an option at No. 2. 

Since Rapoport's report, White has stated that he also has workouts scheduled with the Jets, Chicago Bears (who select eighth overall), New York Giants (ninth) and St. Louis Rams (10th). This is according to Ross Tucker of SiriusXM NFL Radio:

With White drawing so much interest from teams selecting early, it would appear that the chances of him falling out of the top 10 are slim.

Mariota Could Still Be an Option for the Buccaneers

The general belief is that Tampa Bay is set to draft a quarterback with the first overall pick in the draft, since the team currently lacks a franchise signal-caller.

What is not certain is whether the Buccaneers are ready to choose between Winston and Mariota.

The early perception was that Winston would be a good fit for the Buccaneers. He played his college football in-state and is perceived as more ready to start as a rookie than Mariota.

NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah had the following to say of Winston, via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com:

"

I like Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota from what I've studied on tape. You're looking at someone who operated pretty much [in] an NFL system, you're looking at someone who can make all the NFL throws, can make those tight window throws, you see him move around within the pocket and do things you have to do at the next level. I actually think Jameis Winston is more like Ben Roethlisberger than Blake Bortles was. I'm high on him on the field.  

"

Of course, Winston does possess maturity concerns. The Buccaneers have to weigh Winston's on-field potential against those concerns and against Mariota's NFL potential.

Naturally, the Buccaneers scheduled private workouts with both quarterbacks. The workouts occurred on back-to-back days, which wasn't a coincidence.

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, a league source claims the Buccaneers wanted to examine the two quarterbacks closely together—both on the field and in the meeting room. This suggests that Tampa isn't 100 percent sold on Winston and that there is at least a chance that Mariota winds up as the first overall pick in the draft.

NFL Media draft analyst Mike Mayock recently announced that he now has Mariota rated as the superior quarterback, so it shouldn't be a total shock to discover that the Buccaneers do as well. However, if Mariota is selected first overall, it will certainly toss a proverbial wrench into the plans of teams preparing to make a move for the former Oregon standout.

Chargers, Browns Interested in Trading Up for Mariota

If Mariota does fall to the Titans at No. 2 and the team decides he isn't the answer, there appear to be at least two teams interested in trading up to acquire him.

According to Florio, the Cleveland Browns are very serious about trading up to acquire Mariota. Per Florio, multiple league sources have made it clear that the Browns are interested in using their two first-round picks to acquire Mariota, be it via a trade with Tennessee or another team selecting in the top five. 

Cleveland currently holds the No. 12 and No. 19 selections in the first round and would likely have to part with both and more in order to trade up to No. 2. However, a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 3 or with the Raiders at No. 4 are also possibilities. Both teams selected a quarterback in last year's draft.

Of course, the Browns selected a quarterback in last year's draft, too. The team used the 22nd overall pick to select Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel, but Manziel disappointed in his two rookie starts and remains in rehab.

The Browns don't know what to expect from Manziel when he returns to the football field, and their veteran alternative is Josh McCown. Therefore, Cleveland's interest in Mariota should be expected.

What is a little more interesting is the report from ESPN's Adam Schefter that the San Diego Chargers have scheduled a visit with Mariota:

The Chargers don't select until the 17th pick in the first round and already have a steady signal-caller in Philip Rivers. 

Rivers, however, is in the final year of his contract and his former offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, is now the Titans head coach. These two facts have caused some to speculate that the Chargers may try to trade Rivers and the No. 17 selection to the Titans in exchange for a chance to grab Mariota.

Don Banks of SI.com projects the trade in his latest mock draft. Will Brinson of CBSSports.com projects the same move in his mock.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco has denied thoughts of trading Rivers, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com:

Of course, it's unlikely that Telesco would tip his hand now even if a trade is on the radar. It definitely doesn't make a lot of sense for the Chargers to want an up-close-and-personal look at Mariota if the possibility of drafting him isn't there at all.

At the very least, it appears that Mariota has drawn enough interest for the Titans to find a trade partner if they so desire. Ultimately, I believe that Mariota will go No. 2 overall, though not necessarily to Tennessee.