NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released the third edition of his mock draft on Wednesday, with the benefit of information gathered from the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Here are five interesting changes from Jeremiah's previous mock:
1. Mariota to Rams. The churn rate on highly drafted quarterbacks who don't pan out tends to be quick, and in St. Louis it appears to be five years. That's how long it's been since the Rams chose Sam Bradford No. 1 overall out of Oklahoma, but injury problems have created questions about the viability of his NFL future. Jeremiah is now projecting the Rams to take Marcus Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon, with the No. 10 overall pick. That's down four spots from the Jets' No. 6 overall pick, where Jeremiah had Mariota slotted pre-combine. But one of the combine's biggest splashes, Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes and his 4.31 40-yard dash clocking, jumped from No. 13 (Saints) to the Jets at No. 6.
2. Beasley soars up the board. Clemson's Vic Beasleyturned the combine on its ear and made some serious money in the process. Jeremiah moved the former Tigers pass rusher from No. 29 (Colts) all the way to the No. 7 pick of the Chicago Bears. For some perspective on that, consider that last year's No. 29 pick -- Dominique Easley to the Patriots -- signed for $7.3 million, not all of which was guaranteed. The No. 7 pick, Tampa Bay's Mike Evans, pulled in $14.6 million in guaranteed money.
3. Tackles at the end. The past two drafts have seen a strong presence of offensive tackles early in the first round, with seven of them going in the top 11 picks over that span. According to Jeremiah's latest mock, the run on offensive tackles figures to come closer to the end of the first round than the beginning. Four offensive tackles fall between picks 23 and 30: Florida's D.J. Humphries (No. 23, Lions), Pittsburgh's T.J. Clemmings (No. 25, Panthers), Stanford's Andrus Peat (No. 29, Colts) and Miami's Ereck Flowers (No. 30, Packers).
4. Jones leaps forward. UConn cornerback Byron Jones, who garnered some instant fame with a 12-foot-3 broad jump that set a combine record, jumped into Jeremiah's first-round mock as well. The pick? Chip Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles at No. 20 overall.
5. Flip-flop at receiver. Pre-combine, Jeremiah had Alabama receiver Amari Cooper as the first receiver to go (No. 4 to the Raiders), and Kevin White of West Virginia as the second receiver to fall, No. 10 to the Rams. Coming out of the combine, where White blistered the 40-yard dash at 4.35 seconds, White replaced Cooper as the top receiver (still to Oakland at No. 4). Meanwhile, Cooper fell to No. 11 with the Minnesota Vikings. While Cooper had a strong combine effort himself, the difference between the first and second receiver chosen figures to be at least a half dozen picks.
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