2015 NFL Mock Draft - Collaboration (Beazley/Hanson)
- Updated: Wednesday, April 22ndHere are picks 17-32 in my 2015 NFL mock draft:
17. San Diego Chargers (Draft History): Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
SB: Gordon and Todd Gurley are clearly the top-two RB talents in the draft. If i had to rate them, I'd rate Gurley a tad higher than Gordon, but I truly believe the Chargers are little put off over Gurley's ACL injury even though he was just giving a clean bill of health. The Chargers were burned in the past with a fragile RB in Ryan Mathews, so I think this is their reasoning behind the pick.
18. Kansas City Chiefs (Draft History): Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
SB: The Chiefs were an absolute joke last year when it came to WR production. Dwayne Bowe led their WR corps with 60 receptions on 97 targets. The Chiefs WRs were also held without a touchdown all season. That stat alone is truly amazing considering the NFL has turned into a passing league. Strong is a big target with good speed. I think the Chiefs need to go this route if they want to make the playoffs in 2015.
19. Cleveland Browns -- via Buffalo (Draft History): Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
SB: Gurley has drawn comparisons to Marshawn Lynch, but so was another RB they drafted in the first round in the past. I hope Gurley turns out better than Trent Richardson did. Gurley's main concern is his knee injury, but at this point in the draft with Gordon already gone, the Browns hands may be forced if they want to improve that part of their offense. The Ben Tate experiment was a complete disaster, and neither Crowell or West are game-changing backs.
20. Philadelphia Eagles (Draft History): Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
KH: Both of last year's starting cornerbacks -- Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher -- have been replaced in free agency by Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond. While the Eagles gave Maxwell a large free-agent deal, Thurmond will be a free agent in 2016. Johnson has excellent length, athleticism and cover skills. Given the talent at receiver -- Dez Bryant, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson -- within the division, the upgrades in the secondary are (will be) a welcome sight for the Eagles.
21. Cincinnati Bengals (Draft History): D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
SB: The Bengals could use help on the offensive line. Current starter Andre Whitworth is 33 years old and in the final year of his contract. Re-tooling the O-line here is a must if the Bengals are going to transition into a more balanced offense with Hill & Gio.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers (Draft History): Landon Collins, S, Alabama
SB: Collins is the best safety in the draft, and a perfect replacement for Troy Polamalu, who retired this off-season. I think this is a perfect fit for the Steelers, just like how the Ravens drafted Matt Elam to replace Ed Reed. Collins should be able to win the job, and contribute from day one.
23. Detroit Lions (Draft History): Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
KH: The Lions lost defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and C.J. Mosley in free agency, but they traded for Haloti Ngata. The addition of Ngata makes the positional need less dire, but Ngata will become a free agent after the 2015 season as well. Despite his size (6-2, 319), Brown is athletic, disruptive and difficult to block one-on-one.
24. Arizona Cardinals (Draft History): Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
KH: The Cardinals signed Sean Weatherspoon to a free-agent deal, but it's a one-year deal. Meanwhile, Daryl Washington spent all of last season on suspension after a four-game ban in 2013. Brother of Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks, Eric was the recipient of the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and leaves UCLA as the school's all-time leader in tackles.
25. Carolina Panthers (Draft History): Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
KH: Left tackle Byron Bell graded out as the league's worst pass-blocking offensive tackle last season by PFF, but he won't be back with the Panthers anyways. Although the Panthers filled a big void by selecting wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in the first round of last year's draft, it was a bit of a surprise that they did not address the retirement of Jordan Gross as well. I'd expect that to change this year. Better as a run blocker than he is a pass protector currently, Peat has the length and foot quickness to develop into a starting left tackle in the NFL some day.
26. Baltimore Ravens (Draft History): Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
SB: I like Collins here to Baltimore. The Ravens ranked 15th in the AFC last year in yards allowed in the air. Collins should challenge for a starting job. If the Ravens want to stay among the elite teams in the AFC, they definitely need to improve their secondary.
27. Dallas Cowboys (Draft History): Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut
KH: The offense in general, and ball-control running game in particular, has helped mask some of the deficiencies of the Cowboys defense. Although the Cowboys ranked middle of the road in terms of points and yards allowed, only five teams allowed more yards per play than the Cowboys (5.8). Starting cornerback Brandon Carr is vastly overpaid and former first-round pick Morris Claiborne has been a disappointment, when healthy.
Perhaps no prospect helped his draft stock more at the combine than Jones, who showcased his explosiveness with a 44.5-inch vertical jump and combine-record 12-foot-3 broad jump. Not only does Jones have excellent size for a cornerback, but he has starting experience at safety as well.
Even though Gurley and MG3 were already off the board, I hope (as a Cowboys fan) that the first round turns out like this even if either back was still on the board. The position is so deep that I'd prefer them to address DeMarco Murray's departure in the second or third round.
28. Denver Broncos (Draft History): Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
SB: I am a big fan of Texas A&M tackle Cedric Obguehi. Obguehi has size, and power. I remember watching a few games last year where he just dominated opposing D-linemen. He did tear his ACL in the Liberty Bowl, but he is fully recovered and ready to go. The window of opportunity for the Broncos to win it all is realistically one or two more years tops, so adding additional protection for Peyton Manning is a must.
29. Indianapolis Colts (Draft History): Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami (FL)
SB: Flowers has all the measurables, and actually projects a little higher than Obguehi by many, but it's just personal preference. The Colts are in the same boat as Denver, except they have a decade window with Andrew Luck at QB. Anthony Castonzo should be the starter at LT next season, but I'd imagine Flowers will push him for that job in a few years. He should beat out Gosder Cherilus for the job at RT.
30. Green Bay Packers (Draft History): Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
KH: If Kendricks or one of the top-five cornerbacks slipped here, I would have gone ILB or CB for the Packers. The Packers have re-signed both Letroy Guion and B.J. Raji, but both signed one-year deals. Although he doesn't provide much of a pass rush, Goldman (6-4, 336) is a run-stuffer in the middle of the line that can give the Packers a long-term solution at nose tackle.
31. New Orleans Saints -- via Seattle (Draft History): La'el Collins, G/T, LSU
KH: I'd be surprised if Collins lasted until the end of Round 1, but he's about as safe of a pick as the Saints could make at this spot. Playing left tackle at LSU and while he could play tackle at the next level, Collins may be better at guard where he also gained some experience early in his collegiate career. The Saints traded left guard Ben Grubbs to the Chiefs for a fifth-round pick earlier this offseason.
32. New England Patriots (Draft History): Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
SB: When teams win the Super Bowl, they are always hit with a few players who walk to collect a check. They lost a lot of players on defense, but I think they re-tool WR with this pick. Brady has another few years left in the tank, and adding a quality WR with enormous size would give opposing defenses nightmares in the redzone. Double Gronk and Green-Beckham will kill you one on one. This pick makes sense to me, if the Patriots keep it.
-> Go back to picks 1-16 in this mock
-> View Kevin's 2015 NFL Mock Draft
-> For more mocks, check out our 2015 NFL Mock Draft Database or our 2016 NFL Mock Draft for an early look ahead.
-> Also, check out our 2015 NBA Mock Draft and/or NBA Mock Draft Database
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