2015 NFL Draft: Bleacher Report's Expert Consensus Predictions
Hail hail the gang's all here!
Throughout the 2014 season, the National Lead and Division Lead Writers here at Bleacher Report made predictions about how the year would unfold. We forecast individual award winners (Drew Brees as NFL MVP? Um, OK).
We picked each week's games. (OK, really? Who knew Tampa was winning that game? No one. That's who).
We also correctly prognosticated that Patrick Schwarzenegger would blow things with Miley Cyrus, because he's obviously not good enough for...
Sorry. Got sidetracked there for a second.
Well, the scribes here at Bleacher Report have once again broken out their crystal balls (just...don't), this time casting their eyes toward Chicago and this week's 2015 NFL draft.
Who will be the draft's biggest steal? The biggest reach? Best fit? Worst fit? The biggest risers and fallers? Will Miley ever find love again?
Man, I really have to stop reading in line at the grocery store.
For answers to (most of) those questions and more, make with the clicking!
Steal of the Draft
1 of 15
Winner: Marcus Peters, CB, Washington (four votes)
Were it based purely on athletic ability, the first cornerback drafted this year would likely be Washington's Marcus Peters.
At 6'0" and 197 pounds, he has the prototypical size, speed and athleticism that NFL scouts covet in the position. Rob Rang of CBS Sports compared Peters' game to that of Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos.
"Just as Talib did when coming out of Kansas," Rang said, "Peters comes with off-field concerns, but there is no questioning either cornerback's length, aggression and ball skills."
However, it isn't just about Peters' talent. After he was tossed off the team at Washington last November, at least one scout told Mark Eckel of NJ.com that Peters is firmly on their "10-foot pole" list.
As in they aren't touching him with one:
"There's obvious questions. You don't get thrown off your college team for no reason. But he has talent, lots of talent. We're not taking him, but somebody will and probably early, too. It's a shame, how a kid can throw away talent like that. I mean how stupid or selfish can you be? When you hear words like uncoachable it scares you. He better go to the right team, or he'll be out of the league in a couple years.
"
Yikes. Tell us how you really feel.
For his part, Peters insisted to Tom Pelissero of USA Today that he's learned from past mistakes:
"It was an avalanche ready to happen, man. It was going to collapse sooner or later. I don't blame (Coach Chris Petersen) for anything. All I can blame is myself, because I made those decisions and I have to live with them. Now I'll have to man up and I've got to answer these questions in interviews, and all I can do is sit there and answer truthfully and honestly.
"
The good feelings continued over to Washington's pro day on April 2, where Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated reported Peters not only shined in drills but also showed that he had mended fences with his old college coach:
"I felt good. It's excitement. It's a wonderful process that we all get to go through, and I just got a chance to come back home and get it all in with my brothers. ... Now we finish up the visits, and April 30 is the day. It's a lifelong dream that I've been working for, and some of those dreams are coming true now. Everything I went through, I was meant to go through.
"
Simply put, Peters is the classic definition of a risk/reward pick. All the talent in the world—if he can keep his head on straight.
It would appear that our panel expects Peters to do just that, tabbing him as the biggest steal of the 2015 NFL draft.
Others Receiving Votes: Paul Dawson, LB, TCU (three votes), Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State (two votes), Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA (one vote), Josh Shaw, CB, USC (one vote), Quentin Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio) (one vote), Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon (one vote)
Biggest First-Round Reach
2 of 15
"Winner": Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF (four votes)
Much as with the class of 2014, this year's crop of young wide receivers is deep and talented. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL Network's Mike Mayock believes four young receivers will be among the first 20 picks off the board on April 30:
"Mike Mayock of NFL Network previously pegged four receivers for the top 20: Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker, and (Breshad) Perriman. Cooper is regarded as the clear favorite to go first. After that, it could be any of the other three.
"
According to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, the interest in Perriman is well-founded:
"Rare combination of size, top-end speed and suddenness that can be found in some of the best receivers in the game. Arrow is pointed way up on Perriman and he is one of the most discussed prospects in draft rooms around the league. His drops will drive teams crazy, but his physical traits and ability to hit the big play should warrant early consideration.
"
However, Zierlein wrote in another piece that there's also a valid reason why Perriman is on a lot of "boom/bust" lists this year:
"Perriman has the traits at wide receiver that every team covets and he will go in the first round of this year's draft, but his route running and hands are issues right now. Perriman caught just 50 of 99 targets, and some of those incompletions were because of his routes. Perriman had eight drops and a drop percentage of 13.8 percent, which is far and away the worst of any of the top receivers in this year's draft.
"
Great. A wide receiver who runs like a deer but catches like, well, a deer. Where have we seen this before?
Looking at you, Darrius Heyward-Bey. Looking right...at...you.
There was a time when Perriman would have appeared fated to be drafted by the Oakland Raiders—great speed but hands like bricks? Al's favorites—but this year it's the Cleveland Browns who have most been linked to Perriman, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group:
"The Browns are seriously considering taking a receiver in the first round, and they flew to Orlando Sunday night to have dinner with Perriman, who ripped off a 4.26 at his Pro Day. Perriman is quickly gaining ground as the fourth-best receiver in the draft behind Alabama's Amari Cooper, West Virginia's Kevin White and Louisville's DeVante Parker.
"
Well, if the deficiencies in Perriman's game aren't enough to make him this year's biggest first-round reach, then landing in Cleveland should finish him off.
Others Receiving Votes: Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky (three votes), Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia (three votes), Mario Edwards, DL, Florida State (two votes), Shane Ray, DE/OLB, Missouri (one vote)
Best Fit
3 of 15
Winner: Amari Cooper to Oakland Raiders (four votes)
Usually, the idea of the Oakland Raiders taking a wide receiver with a top-10 pick in the NFL draft would be enough to send fans scrambling for the liquor cabinet.
Once again, looking at you, Darrius.
However, at first glance Alabama's Amari Cooper looks more likely to have a career more similar to the last WR the Raiders picked that highly—Tim Brown.
I'm not saying that Cooper will someday land in Canton, although Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com that Cooper compares favorably to another wideout who likely will be following Brown into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: "Amari is super athletic, very fluid and highly skilled as a route runner and hands catcher. Because of his reserved demeanor and similar ability, I compared him to Marvin Harrison during the season."
Granted, Cooper may not quite have the ceiling of a Kevin White or the athleticism of a DeVante Parker. But, as Zierlein wrote, Cooper "should be able to help a passing game improve quickly."
And that's what the Raiders need.
Yes, the team added Michael Crabtree in free agency this spring. And James Jones the year before.
However, if second-year pro Derek Carr really is the franchise quarterback the Raiders have been seeking since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers destroyed Rich Gannon's will to live in Super Bowl XXXVII, then the team needs to do better by him than a couple of castoffs.
Don't overthink this, Oakland.
Others Receiving Votes: Vic Beasley to Atlanta Falcons (two votes), Jameis Winston to Tampa Bay Buccaneers (two votes), Dante Fowler Jr. to Jacksonville Jaguars (two votes), Vic Beasley to Jacksonville Jaguars (one vote), Cameron Erving to Kansas City Chiefs (one vote), Brandon Scherff to New York Giants (one vote)
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Worst Fit
4 of 15
"Winner:" Marcus Mariota to Tennessee Titans (11 votes)
The Tennessee Titans held their predraft press conference Tuesday, and as Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com reports, general manager Ruston Webster said that this year's top two quarterbacks are both worthy of being the No. 1 pick.
"If you think a player is a franchise quarterback, then that supersedes everything else," Webster said.
Of course, with the Buccaneers holding that pick and being fully expected to draft Florida State's Jameis Winston, that leaves the Titans with the option to take Marcus Mariota of Oregon with pick No. 2.
And while much of the predraft speculation has centered on the Titans dealing the rights to pick No. 2 (and Mariota), Peter King of the MMQB insisted the most obvious play will likely wind up being the Titans' course of action:
"Tennessee wants an offer; the Titans aren’t married to picking anyone at number two. I do not believe Tennessee has gotten a golden offer yet. As one GM in the top 10 told me Saturday: “Tuesday or Wednesday is when those calls are made, the serious calls.” Maybe—but the Falcons did the work on the huge Julio Jones draft deal with Cleveland three weeks before the 2011 draft. I’ve got to think that the Titans would know if they were going to get a really good offer by now. And I hadn’t heard of even a strong rumor of one by late Sunday afternoon. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The Titans, though they feel good about Zach Mettenberger, would feel better about Mariota. ...
... My gut feeling three days out? (Dangerous in a year like this, because nothing looks certain but the top pick.) The Titans don’t get that pot of gold for the pick, and they take Mariota.
"
Well, given the overwhelming majority of our pundits who think that's a bad idea, it appears we at Bleacher Report insist that would be a mistake.
For me, the reservation is a simple one. Ken Whisenhunt has had great success working with veteran quarterbacks like Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers. He's shown zero aptitude working with young quarterbacks and runs an offense ill-suited to a scrambler like Mariota.
I just don't trust Whisenhunt not to beat a square peg into a round hole until it loses its edges.
Others Receiving Votes: Leonard Williams to Jacksonville Jaguars (one vote), one voter abstained
Number of First-Round Trades
5 of 15
Winner: Four (four votes)
With the signing of the new collective bargaining agreement back in 2011, winds of change swept through the NFL draft. And with clubs no longer saddled with exorbitant rookie deals, the idea of jockeying for position early in the NFL draft became a lot more palatable.
And since then, folks have made like Monty Hall.
In 2011, the Atlanta Falcons moved up to the No. 6 spot to draft wide receiver Julio Jones. There were five trades involving first-round picks that year.
The next year? The Robert Griffin blockbuster and even more trades.
In 2013, Miami moved up to the No. 3 spot to grab defensive end Dion Jordan, and you needed an abacus to keep track of all the trades. Ditto for last year, when the Buffalo Bills made their play for Sammy Watkins at No. 4.
That trade cost the Bills their first-round pick this year and leaves the Cleveland Browns with a pair, at 12th and 19th overall.
It's the third time in four years the Browns have had two first-rounders, which makes them a prime candidate to be first-round wheelers and dealers on April 30.
It's not a matter of if the trades will take place. It's just a matter of how many.
And honestly, I'd bet the over here.
Others Receiving Votes: Five (three votes), Six (two votes), Seven (two votes), Three (one vote), Eight (one vote)
Biggest Draft-Day Riser
6 of 15
Winner: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA (three votes)
It's a quarterback's world. We're all just living in it.
However, in the 2015 class, there's a significant drop-off in talent level after Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. So much so, in fact, that many pundits believe only two signal-callers will be drafted in the first round on April 30.
However, one of the players vying to be the third quarterback off the board, Brett Hundley, told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times that it's a misconception this year's class lacks depth under center:
"I think one thing I do every day is work hard. If you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to prove you wrong and do it.
If I need to stay in the pocket and make all the throws, then I will do that. In our offense, sometimes the situation dictated if I didn't see something I'm taking off running. But you can watch the tape, there's sometimes I sat in the pocket.
"
Greg A. Bedard of The MMQB agrees that Hundley has potential but allows that it may be some time before we see it:
"In his final two seasons at UCLA, Hundley completed 67.2% and 69.1% of his throws in a more complicated system than what (Bryce) Petty ran, but Hundley is more of an NFL longshot because he’s slow with everything. From his drop-back and scanning the field to his delivery, he simply takes too long—and his mechanics are sloppy and vary from snap to snap. You can be a lot of things at the next level, but being slow to identify targets and slow to deliver the ball is a recipe for disaster.
"
One scout told Jarrett Bell of USA Today that Hundley's game tape shows Day 1 talent—at times:
"He was not easy to grade. He's got the things you need. He can make the throws that really impress you and put it in tight spots. He's accurate, smart, athletic. I'm a big fan of his. But one game he looks like a first-round talent, and the next game you wonder if it's the same guy.
"
Given all these varying opinions, one would think that Hundley's warts would be enough to scare teams off. However, in the opinion of the panel, the opposite holds true for one simple reason.
It's a quarterback's world. We're all just living in it.
Others receiving votes: Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State (two votes), Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut (two votes), Philip Dorsett, WR, Miami (one vote), Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA (one vote), Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky (one vote), Laken Tomlinson, OG, Duke (one vote), Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest (one vote), Nelson Agholor, WR, USC (one vote)
Biggest Draft-Day Slider
7 of 15
"Winner:" Randy Gregory, DE/OLB, Nebraska (11 votes)
With all due respect to Leonard Williams of USC, who may be set for one of the weirder draft-day dips in recent memory, this category has become a two-chucklehead race.
And were the votes for these predictions not due a few days ago, the vote would have been a lot closer.
In the late-charging category, we have Missouri's Shane Ray, who in the past week alone has faced questions regarding possible surgery on his foot and a Monday pot bust.
However, the leading vote-getter in this category no one wants to lead in votes has been facing those sorts of problems even longer.
First, there was a failed drug test at February's NFL Scouting Combine. A drug test that Gregory knew was coming for months. The so-called "idiot test."
Then came a report from Bleacher Report's Dan Pompei that Gregory showed up for a team workout at less than 230 pounds.
Granted, not all teams are apparently turned off by Gregory. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote that the Cowboys believe Gregory is capable of becoming a 4-3 defensive end.
"Nebraska pass-rusher Randy Gregory can play DE in Cowboys 4-3," Hill said, "per a Cowboys defensive coach today. He has the frame to add weight."
Still, it wasn't that long ago that Gregory was being mentioned as a possible top-five pick.
The Cowboys pick 27th.
My how the mighty have fallen.
Others Receiving Votes: Shane Ray, DE/OLB, Missouri (one vote), Leonard Williams, DT, USC (one vote)
Marcus Mariota's New Home
8 of 15
Winner: New York Jets (six votes)
There hasn't been a player about whom there's been more predraft speculation than 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.
The Oregon quarterback has been linked to any number of teams and even more potential draft-day trades engineered in the hopes of landing him.
According to ESPN's Pat McManamon, the Cleveland Browns have already offered their first-round picks (No. 12 and No. 19) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the second overall pick.
However, ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky wrote recently that he thinks all the trade hubbub surrounding the Titans and pick No. 2 is just smoke:
"I think he will go in the No. 2 slot, but I still think there is a decent chance the Titans get an attractive enough deal to make a move back, and make a move away from the quarterback position.
But if they don’t get that offer and they stay at No. 2, they seem to be feeling the pull of Mariota.
"
Then of course, there's the long-rumored swap that would send Philip Rivers to the Titans and land Mariota in sunny San Diego.
Despite repeated denials by the Bolts that such a deal had even been seriously considered, Eliott Shorr-Parks of NJ.com wrote that according to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, it's come down to the Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles:
"Speaking on ESPN, NFL insider Sal Paolantonio reported that sources within Mariota's camp believe it has come down to the San Diego Chargers and Eagles in a bidding war with the Tennessee Titans.
Paolantonio also mentioned the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns as potential trade partners, but made it clear the thought within Mariota's camp is that the Eagles and Chargers are the favorites at this point.
"
Our panel, on the other hand, went with one of those throw-ins Paolantonio mentioned, agreeing with this fan that the New York Jets will be Mariota's new home.
Although the pick is shot now. That dude totally jinxed it.
Others Receiving Votes: Cleveland Browns (three votes), San Diego Chargers (three votes), Tennessee Titans (one vote)
First Running Back Drafted
9 of 15
Winner: Todd Gurley, Georgia (13 votes)
We have our first unanimous vote.
Don't get used to it; it's the only one.
It's not a hard one to figure out, either. From a strictly talent standpoint, you won't find many pundits who are going to pick a player not named Todd Gurley as this year's top ball-carrier.
Rob Rang of CBS Sports compares Gurley's game to that of arguably the NFL's top back: "Like (Marshawn) Lynch, Gurley is best known for simply bowling over defenders, but each back's success is also a testament to good vision, surprisingly light feet and balance to bounce off would-be tacklers."
The elephant in the room was Gurley's knee after an ACL tear last year, but dating all the way back to February, Dr. James Andrews told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Gurley's rehab was progressing well:
"I heard some fuss that Gurley wouldn't let teams examine him and that's just totally misleading. The team physicians I have spoken with who are there -- and I have spoken to a bunch of them -- were all happy about what they saw. I mean, they're smart enough to know you can't have 32 teams pulling and tugging on a knee just 3½ months removed from surgery. But the doctors I spoke with said he looked great and I'd say he's probably six weeks ahead with his recovery.
"
And there's been nothing but good news since. Gurley's knee once again checked out at the combine medical recheck, and this Instagram video posted by Gurley only added to the hype.
Oh, sorry. Wrong video. Here it is.
Frankly, at this point it isn't so much a matter of if Gurley will be the first running back taken. It's just a matter of when.
And more and more draftniks are coming around to the idea that Gurley may not make it out of the top 10. In fact, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Gurley is the top prospect on one team's board...at any position.
First Wide Receiver Drafted
10 of 15
Winner: Amari Cooper, Alabama (11 votes)
Last year, we saw an influx of talent at the wide receiver position unlike any in recent memory. From Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants to Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a number of first-year wideouts made a significant impact in 2014.
This year's class might not be quite as deep as last season's, but comparing the 2015 crop at wide receiver to 2014 is about the only way to make the former look bad.
However, at least one AFC personnel man told Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that he thinks Amari Cooper of Alabama could go even earlier than last year's first pass-catcher selected (Sammy Watkins at No. 4 overall):
"I think the third spot could shock people [again]. I think they [the Jacksonville Jaguars] like [Amari] Cooper more than they are letting on. You hear things and they have been pretty good about what's getting out there. It's a lot like it was last year.
"
As Nick Toney of Fox Sports reports, Oakland Raiders legends Cliff Branch and Tim Brown are hopeful Cooper lasts one more pick:
""I am on my knees every day, begging and pleading to Mark Davis to get Amari Cooper," said Cliff Branch, one of the Raiders best-ever wide receivers.
... Cooper's skills "are so advanced and so polished, it's just a no-brainer to me," Branch said.
... "From what I saw from Amari Cooper, he is very special," said Brown. "He's a guy that can come in and be a Day 1 starter and I think it would be wise of them to bring in another guy to go with Michael Crabtree. You've got a veteran and a young guy you can build this thing around for years to come."
"
Granted, it's possible that West Virginia's Kevin White could come off the board before Cooper. One can argue that it's White, not Cooper, who has the highest NFL ceiling among this year's young wide receivers.
However, Cooper is easily the most NFL-ready of this year's spiral-snaggers, and he's an easy pick for our experts here.
Others Receiving Votes: Kevin White, West Virginia (two votes)
First Edge-Rusher Drafted
11 of 15
Winner: Dante Fowler Jr., Florida (seven votes)
This year's edge-rusher crop is deep and talented, and as recently as a few months ago it was a wide-open race as to which young pass-rusher would be the first to hear his name called by Roger "Huggy Bear" Goodell.
However, that was before Nebraska's Randy Gregory tested positive for marijuana at the combine. And before Shane Ray of Missouri was cited by police earlier this week for possession of—wait for it—marijuana.
The sticky icky is making drafting tricky.
Now, it's more or less a two-man race between Vic Beasley of Clemson, whom Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller compared to Bruce Irvin of the Seattle Seahawks:
"Irvin ended his time at West Virginia as a situational pass-rusher, and that's what Beasley looks like early in his NFL career until he can learn to use his weight and hold up better against the run. But he can make contributions early as a pass-rusher and has the athleticism to become a starter early if he takes to the mental aspect of a move to a stand-up role.
"
And Florida's Dante Fowler Jr., whom Miller ranked as the No. 1 edge-rusher in this year's class back on April 1:
"Dante Fowler Jr. is a powerful, aggressive, explosive edge player with a nonstop motor and top-tier athleticism. His burst for a 260-plus-pound player is uncommonly good, and he takes pride in being a finisher on the field. Fowler plays clean football, but he's a fighter until the whistle and looks to attack the offense.
"
It's a close call, but our panel expects Fowler to get the nod first.
Better start working on that handshake for the commish, Dante. First guys set the tone.
Others Receiving Votes: Vic Beasley, Clemson (six votes)
The Matt Millen Memorial 'What Were They Thinking?' Pick
12 of 15
"Winner:" Breshad Perriman in Round 1 (Three votes)
Central Florida wide receiver Breshad Perriman has already taken home the "honor" of biggest first-round reach in these predictions, but now he's been saddled with an even more ignominious moniker: The Matt Millen Memorial "What Were They Thinking?" Pick.
In a way, it's fitting. After all, it was Millen's love for first-round receivers as general manager of the Detroit Lions that began a plunge into putridity that ended with Detroit becoming the first team in NFL history to go 0-16.
Now, this isn't to say that Perriman is absolutely doomed. Nor is the team that drafts him. But as Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated wrote, Perriman is also nowhere close to a sure thing:
"Perriman made his biggest splash in the court of public opinion when he ran a sub-4.3 40 at his pro day, but as they say, it's important to go back to the tape—and he doesn't always play to that speed. That said, there's enough on the tape to make one wonder if, in the right environment and given the proper tools, Perriman might not wind up as the best receiver in this draft class. It's a longshot, but he flashes that potential from time to time.
"
If nothing else, the wide disparity in opinions regarding Perriman at the very least makes him a good candidate to be the biggest head-scratcher of the 2015 NFL draft.
And whether it's to Cleveland, Minnesota or in the first round altogether, Perriman was the only player whose name came up more than once among our voters.
Cue the ominous music.
Others Receiving Votes: Anything the Oakland Raiders do (one vote), Vic Beasley to Oakland Raiders (one vote), DeVante Parker to Cleveland Browns (one vote), Todd Gurley to New York Jets (one vote), Donovan Smith in Round 1 or 2 (one vote), Ereck Flowers in Round 1 (one vote), any running back in Round 1 (one vote), Andrus Peat to Carolina Panthers (one vote), Cleveland Browns trading two first-rounders for Marcus Mariota (one vote)
Pick That Makes Too Much Sense to Actually Happen
13 of 15
Winner: Amari Cooper to Oakland Raiders (four votes)
Well, Breshad Perriman may be having a rough go of it in this article, but Amari Cooper is having no such issue.
Cooper has already been forecast as the first wide receiver off the board this year. And his fit with the Oakland Raiders has been called the best between player and team in the first round.
And yet, here we sit, with the panel predicting that Cooper to Oakland makes so much sense that it won't come to pass.
As ESPN.com's Bill Williamson reports, the Raiders are examining a number of draft-day possibilities:
"The Oakland Raiders’ top pick will likely come down to USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams and either Alabama’s Amari Cooper or West Virginia receiver Kevin White. If Williams is on the board -- that notion has had growing momentum lately -- he will be the choice. If not, it will likely be Cooper or White with Florida pass-rusher Dante Fowler looming as a darkhorse choice.
... Oakland is open for business. The Raiders are building through the draft. The more picks, the merrier. Their best chance of trading the pick is if Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is still in the board. Several potential buyers could develop and the Raiders could set a high market.
"
Now, not one of these scenarios is necessarily a bad idea. If Williams is there, he'd be hard to pass on, as the 302-pound beefeater is arguably this year's top overall prospect.
Some pundits view White as the superior receiver prospect. Fowler would certainly help a lackluster Oakland pass rush. So would the multiple picks obtained in a trade down.
The problem with the Raiders having so many options?
It gives them more chances to screw things up.
Others receiving votes: Todd Gurley to Atlanta Falcons (two votes), Todd Gurley to Minnesota Vikings (one vote), DeVante Parker to Cleveland Browns (one vote), Brandon Scherff to New York Giants (one vote), Brandon Scherff to New York Jets (one vote), Devin White to Chicago Bears (one vote)
Day 3 Diamond in the Rough
14 of 15
Winner: Tre McBride, WR, William and Mary (four votes)
This category is a hard one to call. After all, there are four rounds of the draft on Day 3 alone. Over 130 players will be selected. Choosing just one as the most likely to emerge as a big contributor at the NFL level is searching for the proverbial needle in the NFL haystack.
Still, our voters gave it a shot. Three writers came out of the stack with a handful of Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs, a player one NFC scout told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com creates a quandary for NFL teams: "He's got draftable qualities and he showed great improvement this year. I'm just not sure what to do with him because he's too small to play outside, and teams in our division are good at slot corners. He's short and slow and that makes him matchup-deficient."
For our leading vote-getter, however, we travel from one of the nation's biggest athletic programs to one of the smallest.
William and Mary wide receiver Tre McBride didn't play on a big stage in college, but from the East-West Shrine Game all the way through the combine and his pro day, the 6'0", 210-pounder took full advantage of every opportunity to impress NFL scouts.
McBride told Nathan Epstein of Wavy.com that he's just looking for one more shot:
"Apparently, (scouts) were like, "If he runs a 4.50 (40-yard dash), then I’ll be happy." I went out there and busted a 4.40 (at the Combine). I don’t think I would be in this position if it wasn’t for those two things. I took advantage of the East-West Shrine game and that’s when…the real interest started pouring in.
"
The experts here at Bleacher Report expect McBride to avail himself of that opportunity as well.
Others Receiving Votes: Quandre Diggs, CB, Texas (three votes), Lynden Trail, DE/OLB, Norfolk State (two votes), DeAndre Smelter, WR, Georgia Tech (one vote), Hau'oli Kikaha, OLB, Washington (one vote), Dezmin Lewis, WR, Central Arkansas (one vote), Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford (one vote)
Seventh-Round Superstar
15 of 15
Winner: Jake Kumerow, WR, UW-Whitewater (two votes)
In recent years, we've seen an increasing number of late-round players and undrafted free agents make a big splash as rookies.
We need look no further than last February, when undrafted free agent Chris Matthews of the Seattle Seahawks and Malcolm Butler of the New England Patriots were two of the biggest stars of football's biggest game.
Still, trying to pick one individual player from the draft's last round who's best-equipped to shine in the NFL?
Yeah, good luck with that.
Given that, it's hardly surprising that every writer polled submitted a different seventh-round superstar except NFL National Lead Writer Mike Freeman, who simply quipped, "no effing idea."
That left yours truly with a dilemma. Should I vote for a 12th different player such as CSU-Pueblo defensive lineman Josh Bredl (whose combination of size and speed opened scouts' eyes at the Super Regional Combine in Phoenix) or break the tie?
I chose the latter route and wide receiver Jake Kumerow of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Was it because I think the 6'5", 195-pounder has a better shot at rookie success than the likes of quarterback Brandon Bridge of South Alabama or Azusa Pacific running back Terrell Watson?
Nope.
But it gives me a chance to suggest you read this excellent profile on Kumerow done by Bleacher Report NFL National Lead Writer Ty Schalter.
And now that you're done reading this, you can go read that.
Others Receiving Votes: Jalston Fowler, FB, Alabama (one vote), Brandon Bridge, QB, South Alabama (one vote), Terrell Watson, RB, Azusa Pacific (one vote), Zach Zenner, RB, SDSU (one vote), Karlos Williams, RB, Florida State (one vote), Ray Drew, DE/OLB, Georgia (one vote), Deiontrez Mount, OLB Louisville (one vote), Tray Walker, CB Texas Southern (one vote), Chris Bonner, QB, CSU-Pueblo (one vote), Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada (one vote)
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