NFL Draft 2015: Latest Mock Draft and Shifts on Stock Market as Event Nears
Lucky are those NFL prospects experiencing a stock boost down the home stretch with the 2015 NFL draft on approach.
Not every prospect can be like Georgia Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley, who now appears to be a top-10 pick after his knee checked out in evaluations, per Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson.
Still, with less than a week to go before Round 1, revelations, news and more continue to go public and reshuffle draft boards. It's only natural, given the pushed-back date of the draft, but more time for NFL teams to work creates these sort of late surges.
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Below rests an updated mock to reflect these changes, with a spotlight on some of the biggest non-Gurley shifts on the market after the jump.
2015 NFL Mock Draft
| 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State |
| 2 | Tennessee Titans | Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida |
| 4 | Oakland Raiders | Leonard Williams, DL, USC |
| 5 | Washington Redskins | Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson |
| 6 | New York Jets | Kevin White, WR, West Virginia |
| 7 | Chicago Bears | Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama |
| 8 | Atlanta Falcons | Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky |
| 9 | New York Giants | La'el Collins, OL, LSU |
| 10 | St. Louis Rams | Marcus Peters, CB, Washington |
| 11 | Minnesota Vikings | DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville |
| 12 | Cleveland Browns | Shane Ray, DE/OLB, Missouri |
| 13 | New Orleans Saints | Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska |
| 14 | Miami Dolphins | Danny Shelton, DT, Washington |
| 15 | San Francisco 49ers | Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State |
| 16 | Houston Texans | Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma |
| 17 | San Diego Chargers | A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina |
| 18 | Kansas City Chiefs | Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa |
| 19 | Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo) | Arik Armstead, DE/OLB, Oregon |
| 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | Landon Collins, SS, Alabama |
| 21 | Cincinnati Bengals | Malcom Brown, DT, Texas |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Owamagbe Odighizuwa, OLB, UCLA |
| 23 | Detroit Lions | Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State |
| 24 | Arizona Cardinals | Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia |
| 25 | Carolina Panthers | Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford |
| 26 | Baltimore Ravens | Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys | Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia |
| 28 | Denver Broncos | Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota |
| 29 | Indianapolis Colts | Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF |
| 30 | Green Bay Packers | Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest |
| 31 | New Orleans Saints (via Seattle) | Nelson Agholor, WR, USC |
| 32 | New England Patriots | Byron Jones, CB, UConn |
Latest Stock-Market Shifts
DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
When it comes to wideouts, many figured nothing would trump last year's deep, borderline-historic offering.
This year might, though, especially with Louisville's DeVante Parker seeming to jump as close as possible to Amari Cooper and Kevin White in the stock department.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald hears that Parker may come off the board earlier than most thought:
To further add to the notion, Frank Cooney of CBS Sports thinks that Parker would be the top receiver in most other classes: "In most drafts, Parker would be the best wide receiver. So if you can't get Cooper or White, then Parker is a damned good consolation prize. And he would be the first one to tell you so."
Parker seems to deserve the hype after missing seven games last season and still catching 43 passes for 855 yards and five scores. He touts good size (6'3", 209 pounds), and when it comes to his skill set, he features great hands, an ability to break away after the catch and smooth routes.
It's not hard to see why Parker's stock is on the rise. Even in a deep class, explosive players who offer something out of the gates and great long-term upside are impossible to ignore.
Whereas Parker was projected as a mid-round pick before, now it seems he won't come off the board far behind the two who lead the pack.
Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut
NFL teams love elite athletes at the skill positions.
There's something about flashy numbers in drills and quick-twitch athleticism capable of negating other negatives. It makes sense in a way—coaches can't teach athleticism and instincts, but they can teach intangibles.
This seems to be what makes Connecticut's Byron Jones such a hot commodity. He measured among the best in every drill he decided to run at the NFL Scouting Combine, something still moving him up draft boards, per TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline: "Byron Jones, who was in Arizona visiting with the Cardinals today, is another zipping up draft boards. Jones is the bigger corner teams want and offers versatility, as a number of coaches feel he could slide inside to safety. To date, he has seven official visits on his calendar."
As Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski points out, Pauline believes Jones has enough to come off the board before Trae Waynes, who most consider the top corner in the class:
Jones is versatile enough to play safety if a team so desires, so it's no wonder teams in need of a promising defensive back look at his athleticism and can't help but move him up their boards.
Whether the hype as perhaps the first corner off the board comes to fruition, it seems Jones is a lock for the opening round thanks to a continued late surge.
Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami (Fla.)
Just how many wideouts can go in the first round this year?
It seems to be a fair question, if not the top one surrounding the draft. After the aforementioned three, Breshad Perriman, Dorial Green-Beckham, Jaelen Strong and Nelson Agholor also merit first-round consideration.
Perhaps it is time to add Phillip Dorsett to the list, too.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. joined Cleveland Browns Daily on Friday and revealed that the Miami Hurricanes standout is a candidate for the middle to late first round. "I would even shade the middle," Kiper said, per Kevin Jones of ClevelandBrowns.com.
Dorsett is a smaller wideout who weighed in at 5'10" and 185 pounds at the combine with an elite 4.33-second 40-yard dash. The numbers mesh well with the fact that he averaged more than 20 yards per catch in each of his last two collegiate seasons, with 36 catches for 871 yards and 10 scores highlighting his senior campaign.
A burner in the utmost sense, Dorsett won't have any issues taking the top off NFL defenses upon his arrival. The question is where he comes off the board, but if NFL teams value him as much as Kiper does, the former Hurricanes star might be the surprise of the first round.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of April 25. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.
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