Todd McShay 2015 Mock Draft: Notable Picks from ESPN Guru's Final Predictions

When Todd McShay mocks, NFL draft nuts pay attention.

The ESPN draft analyst released his sixth and final mock draft Thursday morning, and it is available only to ESPN Insider subscribers. His latest Round 1 projections offer some surprises, veering away from last week's picks. 

After stunning some folks by vaulting Todd Gurley to No. 6 and dropping Leonard Williams from the top five, he altered his forecast to fall closer in line with the consensus. But he hardly followed the chalk throughout the opening round.

To help celebrate draft day, here's a look at McShay's last mock draft.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2	Tennessee Titans	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
4	Oakland Raiders	Leonard Williams, DE, USC
5	Washington Redskins	Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
6	New York Jets	Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
7	Chicago Bears	Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
8	Atlanta Falcons	Alvin "Bud" Dupree, OLB, Kentucky
9	New York Giants	Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
10	St. Louis Rams	Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
11	Minnesota Vikings	Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
12	Cleveland Browns	Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
13	New Orleans Saints	Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
14	Miami Dolphins	DaVante Parker, WR, Louisville
15	San Francisco 49ers	Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon
16	Houston Texans	Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
17	San Diego Chargers	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
18	Kansas City Chiefs	Cameron Irving, C, Florida State
19	Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo)	Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
20	Philadelphia Eagles	Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF
21	Cincinnati Bengals	Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Landon Collins, S, Alabama
23	Detroit Lions	Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
24	Arizona Cardinals	D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
25	Carolina Panthers	Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
26	Baltimore Ravens	Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
27	Dallas Cowboys	Shane Ray, OLB, Missouri
28	Denver Broncos	Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
29	Indianapolis Colts	Demarious Randall, S, Arizona State
30	Green Bay Packers	Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut
31	New Orleans Saints (via Seattle)	Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia
32	England Patriots	Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State

Notable Picks 

6. New York Jets: Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson

McShay doesn't even agree with one of his biggest predicted reaches. Despite declaring Clemson's Vic Beasley his No. 25 overall prospect, the draft guru has the New York Jets snagging him with the No. 6 selection.

In the previous week's projections, McShay paired the outside linebacker with the New Orleans Saints at pick No. 13. While that's as far as the edge-rusher would fall, catapulting him to the sixth spot is also a curious call. Yet Beasley appears to be the direct beneficiary of Randy Gregory and Shane Ray slipping due to off-field concerns. 

Going to Gang Green may also surprise Beasley, who listed the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears and the Oakland Raiders as his most likely landing spots on ESPN Charlotte WZGV 730-AM. McShay, however, warned that the Jets might not stand pat with Marcus Mariota in sight.

"I also wouldn't rule out the Jets trading up to draft Mariota," he wrote. "I've heard some chatter about it, and there's definitely some love for Mariota in the Jets' building."

Not simulating trades, McShay has the Tennessee Titans drafting the Oregon signal-caller with the second pick while realizing a deal is a strong possibility to throw his guesses into chaos.

10. St. Louis Rams: Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami (FL)

Doug McSchooler/Associated Press

According to The MMQB's Peter King, a "love-fest" has formed around offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, who has abruptly transitioned from late-first to top-10 consideration.

"He will not fail," one club official of a team targeting Flowers told King. "He is all ball. Don't know if he'll make many Pro Bowls, but he will play at a good level for years. To me, he's a sure thing."

McShay took the hype to heart, gliding Flowers up 15 spots to No. 10. He previously had the St. Louis Rams snagging wideout Kevin White, who moved up to No. 7 in his latest mock. Although he's unsure of Flowers' ability to handle left tackles, he believes the Miami prospect will flourish on the right side.

Not everyone, however, is on board. In his final rankings, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller placed Flowers at No. 71 on his overall top 100. Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter also didn't take King's report too seriously:

Such dissenting opinions show the lineman's range of potential outcomes as a high-ceiling, low-floor gamble. It's better to draw polarizing perceptions, as Flowers needs only one team from the pro side to make him an early selection. 

27. Dallas Cowboys: Shane Ray, OLB, Missouri

Prior to the mock draft's release, the biggest question was where McShay would place Shane Ray, who was cited for marijuana possession on Monday after getting pulled over for speeding. The No. 5 choice in McShay's last mock, Ray barely salvaged a seat at the Round 1 table.

In this practice run, the Missouri outside linebacker will spend most of Thursday night waiting before the Dallas Cowboys take a chance with pick No. 27. Although Dallas could use a running back or a cornerback, the top rushers (Gurley, Melvin Gordon) and corners (Trae Waynes, Kevin Johnson, Marcus Peters) were already scooped off the board.

Before Monday's incident, worries over an injured toe jeopardized Ray's stock. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, however, reported that his health shouldn't be a major red flag for any interested teams:

After tallying 14.5 sacks for Missouri during his junior campaign, Ray earned a comfortable top-10 spot as a major difference-maker off the edge. Now, he's poised to be a steal much later in the proceedings.