NFL Draft Picks 2015: Round 1 Selections, Team Grades and Results Recap

For what the opening two picks of the 2015 NFL draft lacked in surprise and dramatics, the final 30 more than made up for with plenty of questions answered in Thursday's first round.

Jameis Winston went off the board first to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as expected, and the Tennessee Titans followed suit in the trend of quarterbacks by rebuffing trade offers and selecting Marcus Mariota at No. 2 overall. They were just two of many stud players to go off the board to teams that navigated the draft wisely, but the same can't be said of other teams.

With Round 1 officially in the books, let's break down every first-round selection with an instant-reaction grade.

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

Results and Grades Recap

Titans Sit Tight, Win Marcus Mariota Sweepstakes

Eugene Tanner/Associated Press

The 2015 NFL draft approached with a weird dynamic, with more intrigue and drama surrounding the second overall pick than the first. After commissioner Roger Goodell announced Winston's name as the No. 1 overall selection, the heat was on.

As expected, the Titans' phone lines blew up once on the clock—including a massive offer from Philadelphia that included two first-round picks and Fletcher Cox, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. But that wasn't enough to keep Tennessee from making Mariota its new franchise quarterback. 

Zach Mettenberger is already in the fold, but there's no doubting the Titans' need for an injection of life into an offense that sputtered in 2014—not to mention a face of the franchise and a centerpiece to build upon. It may not be in the mold of Ken Whisenhunt's ideal quarterback, but that hasn't stopped him from bestowing high expectations on his No. 2 overall pick, per The Tennessean's Jim Wyatt:

The Titans' longtime affinity for Mettenberger as a potential starter caused many folks to slot them as a candidate to trade down or select a defensive player early, but Mettenberger now seems to be an afterthought if Whisenhunt's comments are any indication. However, he's still a part of the plan and will have his shot in the preseason, the head coach told 247Sports' Terry McCormick:

Mettenberger told ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky in February of his confidence if the Titans ended up selecting a quarterback, saying, "If we had to compete out there, I think I'd beat them out," referring to Mariota and Winston. Now, it appears as if he'll have the chance to prove that.

With that said, the Titans didn't pick Mariota only to prevent him from getting valuable early playing time by starting a second-year quarterback. Tennessee's talent-devoid roster would have been better served by taking a hearty deal stacked with picks and players, but it's hard to complain with securing a dependable franchise quarterback prospect such as Mariota.

Pass-Rushers Invade First Round

A deep class of edge-rushers and defensive linemen figured to wreak havoc on the first round of the draft, but the way it unfolded left teams picking late in the first round spoiled for choice.

It began as expected with Dante Fowler Jr. of Florida staying in-state and going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the third overall pick. For a Jaguars team that has been mired in the league cellar for years but is beginning to build a formidable defensive front, the pick made perfect sense, as NFL Network's Jeff Darlington observed:

The surprises didn't take long to formulate, however. Largely lauded as the top defensive prospect in the class, defensive tackle Leonard Williams fell past Jacksonville, then past Oakland at No. 4 and then past Washington at No. 5.

With the New York Jets—already stacked on the defensive line—picking at No. 6, Williams didn't seem to be a fit. But that didn't keep the Jets from pulling the trigger, and now head coach Todd Bowles has arguably the best front line in football. 

Williams' arrival in the Big Apple could mean an exodus for Muhammad Wilkerson, as CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora noted:

That development left Clemson's Vic Beasley available for the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8, and they didn't hesitate to add the draft's speediest edge-rusher to a porous defense. 

As for potential steals, they came later on. Bud Dupree out of Kentucky fell all the way to No. 22, where the Pittsburgh Steelers snatched him up, while Shane Ray's fall ended at No. 23, as the Denver Broncos traded up for a player they had as a top-10 talent, per the Broncos' Twitter:

Some of the elite prospects flew off the board early, while others had a long wait Thursday night before hearing their names called, but there was certainly no shortage of teams that bestowed expectations upon pass-rushers in Round 1.

Return of the Running Back?

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

After no running backs were selected in the first round of each of the last two drafts, it only continued to spark talk of the position being devalued in today's NFL. That still may be true, but the way Thursday unfolded certainly doesn't indicate as much.

Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon have been lauded as potential first-round picks ever since they combined to light up college football for much of 2014. The question seemed to be when, not if, both players would hear their names called by Goodell.

It didn't seem likely that it would come within the first 10 picks, however. But the St. Louis Rams didn't hesitate to take Gurley off the board when he was available, and head coach Jeff Fisher made no reservations about his new player while indicating they would take their time, per NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano:

Gordon didn't even have to wait for the latter half of Round 1. The Chargers moved up with San Francisco to take him at No. 15 overall, replacing the recently departed Ryan Mathews and giving Philip Rivers a dependable rock-toter in the backfield.

It's getting harder and harder to justify a running back selection in Round 1, but what Gurley and Gordon offered proved to be too much for teams to pass up. If the early returns are promising from St. Louis and San Diego, star backs in future draft classes may get a bit more love.