2015 NFL Draft: 5 Bold Predictions – Dante Fowler follows QBs off board – CBSSports.com
If the NFL Draft was predictable, it wouldn’t continue to be the fastest-growing niche event in sports. The volatility of the draft, especially the first round, is what makes mock drafts the most visited pages on the internet each spring and drives television ratings for the draft higher than World Series games.
With that said, here are five bold predictions for the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday. They could all be hits, or they could all be misses, but that’s what makes them bold.
1. Dante Fowler will be the first defensive prospect drafted:
Southern Cal defensive tackle Leonard Williams is the best player in the draft. That’s my opinion and the opinion of several around the league. But Fowler could conceivably be drafted ahead of Williams because of his pass rush value. Assuming quarterbacks are drafted 1-2, the Jacksonville Jaguars will have several options from Williams to wide receivers Amari Cooper and Kevin White, but Fowler could be the pick because of his fit in the defense.
2. After two years of no first rounders, the running back position will have two top 20 picks:
In early April, I tweeted that an NFL scouting director told me two running backs would be drafted in the top 20. Although I received mostly “no way” responses to that prediction, I’m buying in and think there is a great chance both Georgia’s Todd Gurley and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon are drafted within the top 20. We know the two-year streak of no first round running backs will be snapped, but I’ll up the ante and say two come off the board in the top 20.
3. OTs Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher will be first round picks:
This offensive tackle class is strange. How’s that for an expert opinion? This year’s class lacks a no-brainer top 10 pick at offensive tackle, but there could be five or six that land in the first round. And two of those tackles will be names not often found in mock drafts: Texas A&M’s Cedric Ogbuehi and Oregon’s Jake Fisher.
Ogbuehi was a first round prospect a few months ago, but a torn ACL in the Aggies’ bowl game put his future in doubt. Fisher is lighter than ideal, but the former tight end has the movement skills that could land him in the top 32.
4. Damarious Randall will be the first safety drafted, and in the first round.
If a needy team doesn’t draft its safety early, it might be on the outside looking in because there are so few players at the position that scouts project as future NFL starters from this class. Alabama’s Landon Collins is one of the safer picks in this draft for a team that needs a strong safety. But for a team seeking a free safety who can cover? Randall could be the guy, and that could get him into the later portion of round one, similar to nickelback/safety Jimmie Ward a year ago.
5. Bryce Petty will sneak into the late part of round one.
This might be the biggest surprise of the first round if it happens. It would be tough to find many who think Petty is worth a first rounder, but quarterbacks are always overvalued because of simple supply and demand and Petty has workable traits that coaches covet, both physically and mentally.
He is likely in the early second round mix to a team like the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams or Buffalo Bills, so it shouldn’t be a shock if one of those teams packages a third or fourth rounder to move up a few spots into the late first round to guarantee Petty, similar to what Minnesota did last year with Teddy Bridgewater. Drafting in the first round also guarantees a fifth-year club option at a very reasonable price, which is gold for a quarterback who will need time to adapt to the NFL game like Petty.
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