NFL Mock Draft 2015: Projections for Top Prospects in 1st-Round Discussion

There are a thousand different ways to break down the NFL draft and determine value. Team needs. Player upside and potential. Player production in college. Team tendencies in the past. The list goes on and on.

But sometimes, players are tough to peg. Maybe their testing is more impressive than what they showed on the field or vice versa. Maybe off-field issues make them a commodity that some teams won't value or trust. Maybe they don't have a natural scheme fit, at least not right away. 

Whatever the case may be, there are always a few players who seemingly have a wide range of potential value. Maybe they go high in the draft, maybe they fall. It's tough to say.

In this mock, I'll be interested in those players. Along with projecting the entire first round, I'll also single out a few players who could realistically be selected all over the board on the first day of the draft.

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

Randy Gregory, DE/OLB, Nebraska

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At one point, Randy Gregory was considered a top-three talent and a player unlikely to sneak past the Jacksonville Jaguars in the draft. But things changed after folks began noticing that, for all of his talent, he was a bit of a raw player who needed to bulk up and wasn't great at setting the edge. He also had a bit of a drop-off in production this past year.

Gregory, to his credit, recognized at the NFL Scouting Combine that he needed to improve his technique, per Stephen Czarda of Washington's official site:

"

It starts with technique, leverage, hand placement, eye placement, just reading your tackle. A lot of that I learned at Nebraska and I’ll carry that to the next level. One of the things I’ve been telling teams is I really want to get better at my technique. I think I have decent technique, but as far as setting the edge, I want to get better with my hand placement, my foot placement and my leverage.

"

Even so, he was still likely going to be selected in the top five picks or so. Then he failed a drug test, and now it's hard to say exactly where he'll be selected. 

Could he still be a top-five pick? Absolutely. His talent is unmistakable, and his ceiling is high. But some teams might take him off their board altogether, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him drop into the 20s in the first round. 

Gregory's talent will be tough to pass up, and I see him as a great fit in the 4-3 under scheme Dan Quinn will bring with him to Atlanta. But if Gregory has a big drop, well, don't be surprised. 

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

So Todd Gurley, given his immense talent, could be a first-round pick. Maybe he goes as high as No. 10 to the St. Louis Rams or No. 12 to the Cleveland Browns.

Or maybe the running back position continues to be devalued and he drops out of the first round altogether. He dealt with injuries at Georgia and was suspended after all.

Ah, so which will it be?

Well, it could be either, or, more than likely, it will be somewhere in between. Gurley is more talented than the running backs who were passed over in the first round the past two years after all, and there are a lot of teams in need of upgrades at the position. The San Diego Chargers certainly seem like a great fit. 

But the NFL has really, truly devalued the running back position in the past five years, turning to committees and specialists and away from workhorse three-down backs. It's a passing league, and in a year with a lot of excellent prospects at wide receiver, cornerback and pass-rusher, it wouldn't be shocking if the running backs slid down the board again. 

Gurley is special. Is he special enough to buck recent trends? That remains to be seen. 

Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF

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The NFL loves speed, and boy, is Breshad Perriman fast. He went from being a player you didn't see being mocked in the first round very often to a player climbing up the board at alarming rates after he ran a 4.24 40-yard dash at his pro day.

Maybe he's the third receiver off the board. Maybe he isn't selected until the second round because, let's be honest, there was a reason he wasn't this hyped before his pro day. 

He did produce for Central Florida last year, catching 50 passes for 1,044 yards and nine touchdowns. There's no doubting his ability as a deep threat, and he has solid size to accompany his speed, though his technique needs to be refined. It's hard to say where he'll land, but anywhere from No. 10 to the second round seems possible at this point.