Football is almost here! It’s just a matter of time before the season begins. The first step was Free Agency, the second was the schedule. And now the Draft! This Thursday @ 8:00 pm the 1st Round of the Draft will be on in prime time and I’ll be glued to the television. This is a very interesting draft class and it’s hard to predict who each team will pick, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun trying. So, based on the opinions of experts and my own uneducated musings (and barring any draft spot trades) here it is, Olie’s 2015 Mock Draft:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jameis Winston, QB FSU
2. Tennessee Titans – Marcus Mariota, QB Oregon
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Dante Fowler Jr, LB Florida
4. Oakland Raiders – Amari Cooper, WR Alabama
5. Washington Redskins – Leonard Williams, DE USC
6. New York Jets – Bud Dupree, LB Kentucky
7. Chicago Bears – Kevin White, WR WVU
8. Atlanta Falcons – Vic Beasley, LB Clemson
9. New York Giants – Danny Shelton, DT Washington
10. St Louis Rams – Brandon Scherff, OG Iowa
11. Minnesota Vikings – Trae Waynes, CB MSU
12. Cleveland Browns – DeVante Parker, WR Louisville
13. New Orleans Saints – Randy Gregory, LB Nebraska
14. Miami Dolphins – La’el Collins, OT LSU
15. San Francisco 49ers – Arik Armstead, DT Oregon
16. Houston Texans – Breshad Perriman, WR UCF
17. San Diego Chargers – Todd Gurley, RB Georgia
18. Kansas City Chiefs – Andrus Peat, OT Stanford
19. Cleveland Browns – Malcom Brown, DT Texas
20. Philadelphia Eagles – Landon Collins, S Alabama
21. Cincinnati Bengals – Shane Ray, DE Missouri
22. Pittsburgh Steelers – Marcus Peters, CB Washington
23. Detroit Lions – Jordan Phillips, DT Oklahoma
24. Arizona Cardinals – Melvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin
25. Carolina Panthers – DJ Humphries, OT Florida
26. Baltimore Ravens – Phillip Dorsett, WR Miami
27. Dallas Cowboys – Kevin Johnson, CB Wake Forest
28. Denver Broncos – TJ Clemmings, OT Pittsburgh
29. Indianapolis Colts – Ereck Flowers, OT Miami
30. Green Bay Packers – Jalen Collins, CB LSU
31. New Orleans Saints – Nelson Agholor, WR USC
32. New England Patriots – Eddie Goldman, DT FSU
Best of the rest: Michael Bennett DT OSU, Tevin Coleman RB Indiana, Eli Harold LB Virginia, Carl Davis DT Iowa, Ronald Darby CB FSU, Cedric Ogbuehi OT TA&M, Jaelen Strong WR ASU, Paul Dawson LB TCU, Benardrick McKinney LB Miss St, Tre’ Jackson OG FSU, Jay Ajayi RB Boise St, AJ Cann OG SC, Eric Kendricks LB UCLA.
Notes: Cleveland has two 1st Round picks, one from Buffalo for the Sammy Watkins deal in last year’s Draft. New Orleans also has two first rounders after trading TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle last season. Consequently, neither Buffalo nor Seattle have a 1st Round pick.
Also: I think a team will trade up into the #2 spot to draft Marcus Mariota. Whether that’s the Jets, the Bears, the Eagles, the Chargers, or the Browns, we’ll just have to wait and see. Regardless, I see him going second overall, but it may not be to the Tennessee Titans. One last addendum; I think Gurley & Gordon could easily flip draft slots, depending on how teams rank the RBs and how concerned they are about Gurley’s injury.