The 2015 NFL draft is here as we sit less than 24 hours from the announcement of the first overall pick from Roger Goodell. While some may still wonder who that pick will be it sounds more and more likely that player will be Jameis Winston out of Florida State.
Now before we get into a real quick first day draft preview as well as a few draft sleepers from this years draft we wanted to run down our opinion on the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft. At this point everyone has an opinion on whether Winston or Marcus Mariota should be the first quarterback off the board.
When we look at these two quarterbacks they both have shown the ability to win and win on a consistent basis. The advantage for us is Winston who not only shown in the National Title game he can put his team in position to win the game but also capitalize. Flash back two years when he led the Seminoles down the field against the Auburn Tigers finding Kelvin Benjamin for the go ahead touchdown with less than a minute remaining.
Mariota on the other hand helped guide the Ducks to a terrific regular season record but couldn’t find a win to propel them into the National Title game. That being said each of these quarterbacks are a gamble with a selection in the top 10. This could be a draft that we find another Russell Wilson in one of the later rounds.
Since we got that out of the way lets break down what we expect to happen on the first day of the 2015 NFL Draft starting with Winston being taking with the number one overall pick. While the rumors continue to pop up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will trade the pick we still don’t see a team in the NFL giving up multiple first round picks for a quarterback that won’t become Andrew Luck.
Following Winston we expect the Tennessee Titans to keep their mouths quiet all day till finding a trading partner minutes before their pick. This is move that allows them to move back a few picks, pick up a few extra picks and potentially land a proven NFL ready quarterback. One of those teams we could see moving up is the Cleveland Browns who currently have two first round picks in this year’s draft.
After these two picks are off the board this is where the first day of the NFL Draft could get real crazy starting with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars currently hold on to the third overall pick a move that should see Leonard Williams or Dante Fowler in Jacksonville next year. One potential move here that no one has been talking about is the Miami Dolphins moving up to jump the Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper.
Keeping up with the wide receiver position we expect not only Cooper to go in the top ten but Kevin White and Devante Parker to also land within those same picks. This wide receiver class might not be the class of last year but from what we see a few years from now we might have more top tier talent from this class than last year. Yes we know the names of Odell Beckham, Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins but this years class is very deep. Overall we expect anywhere from seven to ten wide receivers going in the first round.
Sticking with the offensive side of the ball other key first round selections include running backs Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon. The rumors of late have Gurley as the top running back in this draft with some experts pointing Gurley as a top 10 pick. While we love Gurley this seems crazy to us after multiple years without a running back going in the first round then we have one coming off a major injury going in the middle of the first round?
Now on the defensive side of the ball this might be one of the weaker draft classes for the secondary position with Trae Waynes set to be the first cornerback to come off the board. Outside of Waynes, Kevin Johnson and Marcus Peters should both hear their name on the first day but we aren’t sure any other name should come off the board.
For us we honestly don’t get to excited about many of the first round defensive players or any lineman. That’s just us and before you say anything we know they are very key players but with Shane Ray in some trouble along with Randy Gregory the one other name that really stands out for us is Vic Beasley. So we decided to turn this into more of a draft about the offense.
Here are a few of our sleepers that will get overlooked at in this draft that we could see being a key contributor as soon as next season.
Darren Waller, Georgia Tech: You won’t hear us compare him to Calvin Johnson or Demaryius Thomas as well as draft bust Stephen Hill. Waller possesses great size at six foot six inches along with terrific speed at 4.46. While many experts have been quiet on Waller we like him a lot and understand his offensive numbers are skewed based on the type of system he played in.
Garrett Grayson, Colorado State: While all the talk has been about Winston and Mariota as well as Brett Hundley. Grayson could be the sleeper quarterback that could become the next Russell Wilson. Only downside is his lack of height and weight that many have concerns about playing at the NFL level.
David Johnson, Northern Iowa: All eyes have been on Gurley and Gordon this draft but a name to keep on file is David Johnson out of Northern Iowa. Johnson has good size at six foot one inches and 224 pounds as well as the strength to be an everyday running back. Johnson is a physical style running back but also will make plays out of the backfield with his soft hands.