NFL Mock Draft 2015: 1st-Round Projections and Latest Buzz on Top Prospects

With less than one week remaining until the commencement of the 2015 NFL draft, league personnel is scrambling to obtain any additional valuable information regarding the year's top prospects. Of course, once that information is acquired, big boards are altered and the draft's outlook shifts once again.

This process will continue right up until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock to kick things off.

While we anxiously await the first round to begin, we're tasked with sifting through the buzz generated by inside sources in an effort to determine what may be real and what appears to be smoke screens. Plenty of gossip is being generated at this time of year, so expect mock drafts to continue to change as a result.

Let's take an updated look at how the draft's first round is likely to shake out, followed by some buzz that is likely to be very relevant on April 30.

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

Analyzing Recent Draft Buzz

So, what's being said about some of the draft's top prospects? Which ones are rising up big boards? Which could be linked to potential trades? The answers to these questions are beginning to surface as new information is revealed from sources around the Web. Here's a glance at what's being said.

Shane Ray to Miss Valuable Time?

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Missouri's Shane Ray was highly regarded as one of the draft's premier pass-rushers. Unfortunately, his draft stock took a bit of a knock when he couldn't participate in the scouting combine due to a foot injury. His lackluster pro day didn't help things, either.

Well, as it turns out, Ray's bad offseason may be due to his lingering foot issue. According to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, the defensive end may require surgery that will keep him out for an extended period of time:

That's bad news for Ray, as a rookie's initial time with his new team is incredibly valuable. If he's forced to miss significant training, he'll have a very steep learning curve ahead and may not be able to make a significant impact during his first season.

Due to this information, expect Ray to fall out of the top 10 and wind up with the New Orleans Saints at No. 13 overall.

Todd Gurley on the Rise?

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia running back Todd Gurley has been a wild card throughout the draft process. He's a highly talented ball-carrier capable of altering games in a similar fashion to Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles. His great speed, cutting ability, vision and toughness are fantastic attributes; however, a devastating ACL injury in 2014 derailed the running back.

During recent medical re-checks, Gurley's ACL looked good and the running back's draft stock instantly began to rise. In fact, draft analyst Todd McShay had the running back going as high as No. 6 overall to the New York Jets in his latest mock. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports explained why:

There will be some debate over how high Gurley ultimately goes, but after residing near the bottom of the first round for quite some time, he gets a nice boost up to the running back-needy San Diego Chargers at No. 17 overall in this mock.

Eagles to Trade Bradford?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles have made a few perplexing moves over the offseason—one of them was trading Nick Foles for Sam Bradford. Although, according to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, the quarterback may not reside in Philadelphia too long. Here's what Cole had to say:

Bradford is right to be nervous about the draft, as rumors linking the Eagles to Marcus Mariota continue to swirl. One of the most recent pieces of speculation suggests Philadelphia sends Bradford to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 19 overall selection and then packages the No. 19 and 20 picks, along with Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks, for the Tennessee Titans' No. 2 pick.

We'll see what happens here, but one thing is for certain: There appears to be a very strong chance the Eagles attempt to make a move for Mariota, and if a trade does come to fruition, the draft will be severely shaken up as a result.

Buffalo to Trade into 1st Round?

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The Buffalo Bills are without a first-round pick in this year's draft due to moving up to select wide receiver Sammy Watkins in 2014. General manager Doug Whaley was recently asked about his team's draft strategy during an interview with Mike Rodak of ESPN.com:

"

We're going to set up our board where we'll put a demarcation line where if we see guys fall—and we think we have a chance to go up and get, and we would consider it—but I'll tell you right now, with the lack of ammunition, I would highly, highly doubt that we [trade up]. We'd be more prone to listen to offers to move back from 50 and pick up more picks, but again, I will never say never.

"

Will Buffalo trade up? That sure seems to be a resounding no. In fact, Whaley appears to think the more likely move is trading back from No. 50 to acquire more picks—which may be a wise move considering the Bills are also without a fourth-round selection as well.

Watching a team trade up is always exciting; however, for Buffalo fans, it appears that won't be happening in 2015.