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2015 NFL Draft: The 10 players who will go in the first 10 picks
April 8, 2015 12:01 pm ET
By Jason LaCanfora
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...-10-players-who-will-go-in-the-first-10-picks
There will be no mock drafts from me until the day of the first round of the draft. I am sticking to that stance. Too much information remains to be gathered and too much jockeying is going on. So I'm out of the mock-draft game until a few hours before the thing actually kicks off.
But, I am willing to give a first crack at the 10 players I think go in the first 10 picks. I'm not going to assign them to a specific team across the board, because I anticipate at least one trade in the top 10 and possibly several more, and there will be no shortage of teams looking to move up or down. Movement appears imminent. But I'll take a shot, three weeks out, of placing 10 players with the first 10 picks with an explanation about how I got there.
Obviously, this is all subject to change and I suspect a bit of it will between now and when I take a crack at this at the end of the month, though I do feel pretty strongly about the first six picks in particular. Here's what I'm thinking for now:
1. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State: I don't see the Bucs trading out of this pick and I don't see anyone else moving up this high to get him. I would be fairly stunned if Tampa Bay did anything but take the Florida State quarterback. They have been investigating this for months and slowly building a case for taking him, off-field concerns and all, and I don't see anything short of Winston getting in trouble derailing this train. He's the most ready to play Week 1 and that will be the idea, with some decent pieces on offense already around him.
2. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon: I could see any number of a half-dozen teams using this selection on the Oregon quarterback, including the Titans, who currently have it. But Tennessee doesn't seem married to that idea by any stretch and the Rams, Saints, Eagles, Browns or Chargers could end up in this spot to take the quarterback. Regardless, I hold firm to the belief that quarterbacks go 1-2, as they did in 2012. It's a two-quarterback draft and need prevails.
3. Leonard Williams, DT, USC: Too many people believe he is the best player in the draft for him to last much beyond this point. Jacksonville, with the third pick, could be open for trade talks and you could make the case they have some talent on the defensive line already. But this is too high for any of these offensive linemen and Williams could be a transcendent player above and beyond any of the pass rushers available, who will have big-time allure to the Jags as well. The Jags need to be taking the best player available and two QBs going up top would be exactly what they want as they already nabbed Blake Bortles very high a year ago.
4. Kevin White, WR, West Virginia: We're splitting hairs between the top two wide receivers (Amari Cooper) and maybe it will be a coin flip, but the Raiders have always prized that world-class speed and, Al Davis or not, I could see them going this route with the receiver from West Virginia. Top free agents didn't want their money in free agency, and likely won't until they start winning or get a real stadium, so the draft is it for finding elite weapons to put around QB Derek Carr. They need to diversify the offense and getting a No. 1 receiver is imperative.
5. Dante Fowler, OLB, Florida: You could make the case for several pass rushers if Washington stays at this spot -- Shane Ray or Vic Beasley might fit the bill as well -- but I'm going to play a hunch and go with the outside pass rusher from Florida in Scot McCloughan's first draft for Washington. Put this kid on the other side of Ryan Kerrigan and you just might quickly upgrade over Brian Orakpo. Regardless, I'm thinking an edge rusher is the play here as the Skins need to add teeth to a long sagging defense.
6. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama: The Jets loaded up on free agents largely on defense, and the draft focus will be adding explosiveness on offense. Yeah, they traded for Brandon Marshall, but he's not taking the top off anything and that's likely a two-year deal for him, anyway. And high-end speed is not Eric Decker's game, either. Speedster Percy Harvin is gone and if Geno Smith is going to have any chance to develop, he needs some difference makers around him. I see the Jets going receiver if they stay here.
7. Shane Ray, DE, Missouri: I'm going to go with the scouts' take that Vic Beasley is more of a 3-4 guy and I see John Fox looking for someone who slides maybe easier into a 4-3 and can get after the quarterback. This almost has to be a pass rusher to me. It's imperative with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford and now Teddy Bridgewater in the division. And this defense has been horrific the past few years and devoid of anything to scare opposing quarterbacks. You could certainly make the case for a corner, too, (or a defensive tackle or a pretty much anything on that side of the ball), but a disruptive force off the edge carries the day for me here.
8. Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa: Protecting Matt Ryan remains the most pivotal thing the Falcons have to do and this kid is a scheme fit with his athleticism in what new coordinator Kyle Shanahan wants to run. The increased power of Scott Pioli in the decision-making process I would think leads to more of an emphasis being placed on drafting linemen, and while the Falcons long for pass rushers and run stoppers, I see a mini-run on offensive linemen in what isn't a great draft for them starting here.
9. Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford: The Giants have to continue reworking their offensive line and it remains an area of concern and this kid is good fit. I'm not sure if its being reflected in the media much, but teams like him a lot and New York needs a tackle. I continue to hear a buzz about Scherff and Peat going in these two slots.
10. Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State: Not sure if the Rams stay here, and if they do, they could certainly go with a wide receiver like DeVante Parker. And yes, they've already taken corners pretty high in recent years. But three of them are on the field most of the time in this day and age. This could be a spot for someone moving up for whichever of the top three edge rushers are still on the board (I don't have Vic Beasley accounted for just yet in this exercise, for example), but I'm thinking the best corner in the draft in a pass happy age ends up in the top 10.
April 8, 2015 12:01 pm ET
By Jason LaCanfora
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...-10-players-who-will-go-in-the-first-10-picks
There will be no mock drafts from me until the day of the first round of the draft. I am sticking to that stance. Too much information remains to be gathered and too much jockeying is going on. So I'm out of the mock-draft game until a few hours before the thing actually kicks off.
But, I am willing to give a first crack at the 10 players I think go in the first 10 picks. I'm not going to assign them to a specific team across the board, because I anticipate at least one trade in the top 10 and possibly several more, and there will be no shortage of teams looking to move up or down. Movement appears imminent. But I'll take a shot, three weeks out, of placing 10 players with the first 10 picks with an explanation about how I got there.
Obviously, this is all subject to change and I suspect a bit of it will between now and when I take a crack at this at the end of the month, though I do feel pretty strongly about the first six picks in particular. Here's what I'm thinking for now:
1. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State: I don't see the Bucs trading out of this pick and I don't see anyone else moving up this high to get him. I would be fairly stunned if Tampa Bay did anything but take the Florida State quarterback. They have been investigating this for months and slowly building a case for taking him, off-field concerns and all, and I don't see anything short of Winston getting in trouble derailing this train. He's the most ready to play Week 1 and that will be the idea, with some decent pieces on offense already around him.
2. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon: I could see any number of a half-dozen teams using this selection on the Oregon quarterback, including the Titans, who currently have it. But Tennessee doesn't seem married to that idea by any stretch and the Rams, Saints, Eagles, Browns or Chargers could end up in this spot to take the quarterback. Regardless, I hold firm to the belief that quarterbacks go 1-2, as they did in 2012. It's a two-quarterback draft and need prevails.
3. Leonard Williams, DT, USC: Too many people believe he is the best player in the draft for him to last much beyond this point. Jacksonville, with the third pick, could be open for trade talks and you could make the case they have some talent on the defensive line already. But this is too high for any of these offensive linemen and Williams could be a transcendent player above and beyond any of the pass rushers available, who will have big-time allure to the Jags as well. The Jags need to be taking the best player available and two QBs going up top would be exactly what they want as they already nabbed Blake Bortles very high a year ago.
4. Kevin White, WR, West Virginia: We're splitting hairs between the top two wide receivers (Amari Cooper) and maybe it will be a coin flip, but the Raiders have always prized that world-class speed and, Al Davis or not, I could see them going this route with the receiver from West Virginia. Top free agents didn't want their money in free agency, and likely won't until they start winning or get a real stadium, so the draft is it for finding elite weapons to put around QB Derek Carr. They need to diversify the offense and getting a No. 1 receiver is imperative.
5. Dante Fowler, OLB, Florida: You could make the case for several pass rushers if Washington stays at this spot -- Shane Ray or Vic Beasley might fit the bill as well -- but I'm going to play a hunch and go with the outside pass rusher from Florida in Scot McCloughan's first draft for Washington. Put this kid on the other side of Ryan Kerrigan and you just might quickly upgrade over Brian Orakpo. Regardless, I'm thinking an edge rusher is the play here as the Skins need to add teeth to a long sagging defense.
6. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama: The Jets loaded up on free agents largely on defense, and the draft focus will be adding explosiveness on offense. Yeah, they traded for Brandon Marshall, but he's not taking the top off anything and that's likely a two-year deal for him, anyway. And high-end speed is not Eric Decker's game, either. Speedster Percy Harvin is gone and if Geno Smith is going to have any chance to develop, he needs some difference makers around him. I see the Jets going receiver if they stay here.
7. Shane Ray, DE, Missouri: I'm going to go with the scouts' take that Vic Beasley is more of a 3-4 guy and I see John Fox looking for someone who slides maybe easier into a 4-3 and can get after the quarterback. This almost has to be a pass rusher to me. It's imperative with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford and now Teddy Bridgewater in the division. And this defense has been horrific the past few years and devoid of anything to scare opposing quarterbacks. You could certainly make the case for a corner, too, (or a defensive tackle or a pretty much anything on that side of the ball), but a disruptive force off the edge carries the day for me here.
8. Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa: Protecting Matt Ryan remains the most pivotal thing the Falcons have to do and this kid is a scheme fit with his athleticism in what new coordinator Kyle Shanahan wants to run. The increased power of Scott Pioli in the decision-making process I would think leads to more of an emphasis being placed on drafting linemen, and while the Falcons long for pass rushers and run stoppers, I see a mini-run on offensive linemen in what isn't a great draft for them starting here.
9. Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford: The Giants have to continue reworking their offensive line and it remains an area of concern and this kid is good fit. I'm not sure if its being reflected in the media much, but teams like him a lot and New York needs a tackle. I continue to hear a buzz about Scherff and Peat going in these two slots.
10. Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State: Not sure if the Rams stay here, and if they do, they could certainly go with a wide receiver like DeVante Parker. And yes, they've already taken corners pretty high in recent years. But three of them are on the field most of the time in this day and age. This could be a spot for someone moving up for whichever of the top three edge rushers are still on the board (I don't have Vic Beasley accounted for just yet in this exercise, for example), but I'm thinking the best corner in the draft in a pass happy age ends up in the top 10.
