2015 NFL Mock Draft: Predictions for Top Prospects and Emerging Storylines

Get those masks ready, NFL fans—it's smokescreen season.

Really, smokescreens pepper the entire path to the draft, but with the 2015 NFL draft less than a week away, things are in overdrive as teams look to throw others off their line of thinking and perhaps help their beloved prospect fall down the board.

There's a lot of real information out there too, but the key is separating the real from the smoke to best craft a big board and mock draft.

Below, let's take a look at an updated mock. Prospect stock and team need are the main factors taken into account, with how each front office may react to the board as well as those two factors shaping the entire round.

2015 NFL Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Selection
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	Laken Tomlinson, OG, Duke
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

Emerging Storylines to Watch

The Plight of Top Edge-Rushers

This year offers some of the best talent in quite awhile when it comes to pass-rushing prospects, but not all is well for some of the biggest names.

Names such as Dante Fowler Jr. and Vic Beasley are fine. For Missouri's Shane Ray and Nebraska's Randy Gregory, that's not so much the case. Both prospects offer plenty from an on-field perspective, but off-field woes are the issue hurting their stock.

For Ray, it's a combination of his size (he weighed in at 6'3" and 245 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine) and an injury. At first, it seemed Ray would need surgery on his foot, per NFL.com's Lance Zierlein (via Bleacher Report's Arif Hasan), but NFL Network's Ian Rapoport later revealed surgery is not on the docket:

Still, a foot issue involving the S-word so near the draft hurts, especially for a prospect such as Ray who negates his questionable size with a quick-twitch ability to blow around blockers.

Size is an issue for Gregory too after a 6'5" and 235-pound mark at the combine. So too is a failed a drug test in Indianapolis.

In such a deep class, injuries and questionable decision-making skills create red flags perhaps insurmountable for prospects already at a disadvantage from an on-paper standpoint. Keep a close eye on how it impacts both Ray and Gregory on draft day.

The Late-Rising Offensive Lineman

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

When it comes to the 2015 class, folks know all about the surefire first-round offensive tackles such as Brandon Scherff, Andrus Peat and La'el Collins. They may even know the name of guard A.J. Cann.

It's time to get familiar with Duke's Laken Tomlinson.

Tomlinson is the lone first-round guard prospect, something the globe figured out in a big way when Rapoport revealed the list of prospects who will attend the draft:

So who is Tomlinson? He's a four-year starter who starred at the combine at 6'3" and 323 pounds with strong form in drills. He's as pro-ready as it gets for the position, as a scout tells Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"

If there's a first-round guard in this draft and he's not a conversion it's Tomlinson. He's a plug-and-play, start-first-day right or left guard. He plays better than (Chance) Warmack. He's big, athletic, he can pull, he can block at the point, he's smart. He might be a great center, too, if you tried him there.

"

Whereas Scherff and Collins may be better on the outside and a career inside might prove a disappointment, there's no hiding what Tomlinson is or just how well he may be able to do it right away.

There's value to a sure thing in the NFL draft (what most like to classify as a "crapshoot") even in the offensive trenches.

The Battle to Be the No. 3 QB Continues 

No quarterback in the class will sniff Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, a fact the globe knew before the last collegiate season even began. 

The battle for No. 3 is pretty entertaining, though. 

In one corner is UCLA's Brett Hundley, more of a mobile quarterback and a project. He completed 69.1 percent of his passes last year for 3,155 yards and 22 scores to five picks. Then you can add in another 644 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, although recent notes by Frank Cooney of CBSSports.com suggest it is necessary to look well past the numbers:

"

He can run and throw and was able to ring up a lot of yards in college, but Hundley rarely looked smooth and natural, especially in the pocket, where he seemed impatient and all too ready to run. He sometimes over-strides while passing, making his release point much lower and usually guides the ball from that stance, which means a slow release that invites an alert NFL defender to jump the route. He has ability, but is a project.

"

There's also Baylor's Bryce Petty to consider, who touts similar numbers to Hundley. The major knock is the fact he spent most of his time in the Bears' spread attack.

It's a reputation he wants to break free of, per Cooney: "We were in the spread but at the same time I feel like I am a pocket passer. I want to extend plays, extend plays within the pocket."

Long considered the third quarterback, Hundley may be losing his grip on the spot with Petty's recent momentum. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller believes Petty will come off the board rather early:

One year removed from watching Johnny Manziel come off the board in the first round, nothing should surprise when it comes to quarterbacks in the NFL draft.

It just so happens this year offers two serious surprise candidates—and ones deserving of the status.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of April 26. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.