Spring has finally sprung so I have decided to bounce back with an article as well. Next week I will be back with an official pick’em for local games but this week I am focusing just on the 2015 NFL Draft which starts Thursday night in Chicago.

I’ve spent the last few days doing some research on this year’s prospects and am pleased to announce that I have no idea what the heck I am doing.

Some players are ranked very high on some sites, then get no love elsewhere. All of the back and forth, love and hate that comes with the draft is really kind of annoying. So, I have taken a stab at it this season (as I did last year).

Before I get to my selections I need to say that I have very little confidence in this mock draft. This year’s draft is confusing and seems to be very unpredictable. I expect quite a few trades this year, but I don’t both mocking those because that is just too much guessing.

I have mocked the first 32 picks for the NFL as well as mocked full drafts for the Colts and Bears. Last year I correctly picked the positions the Colts went in round 2 and 3, that means nothing, I just feel good about it. I also correctly mocked DT Will Sutton to the Bears, so I’m not totally bad at this.

If I end up with more than five correct picks, I’m buying myself a cupcake.

NFL DRAFT ROUND 1

Pick No. 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Florida State.
The Scoop: This draft should be full of surprises, but I don’t expect to see one at the beginning of the night. The Bucs need a QB and Winston is the best available. It’s really that simple.

Pick No. 2, Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Oregon.
The Scoop: I’m cheating a little bit here. I’m not officially predicting a trade but I do predict that Mariota will not be a Titan. I expect the Oregon prospect to be taken No. 2 overall, I’m just no sure who will do that yet.

Pick No. 3, Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Williams, Defensive Tackle, USC.
The Scoop: The Jags could go a lot of different ways here but Williams is arguably the best prospect in the draft. Playing Andrew Luck twice a year will certainly influence this pick.

Pick No. 4, Oakland Raiders: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Alabama.
The Scoop: Does anybody ever really know what the Raiders are going to do? They signed Trent Richardson in March, so this offseason is already lost.

Pick No. 5, Washington Redskins: Brandon Scherff, Offensive Tackle, Iowa.
The Scoop: This is the smart move for Washington, so I doubt this is the route the Redskins will take. Scherff is one of the safest picks in the draft and fills a major need for Washington. So, again, don’t expect this to happen.

Pick No. 6, New York Jets: Kevin White, Wide Receiver, West Virginia.
The Scoop: This is really a “Best Player Available” move here. Other solid players are still on the board but White can help bolster an already impressive receiving depth chart in New York…despite the lack of a quarterback.

Pick No. 7, Chicago Bears: Trae Waynes, Cornerback, Michigan State.
The Scoop: This probably won’t happen because I still have Dante Fowler on the board and the Bears will probably take him over Waynes, but this is till the route I went. Waynes is an excellent cornerback. He has good size (6’1″, 183 pounds) and is the clear-cut top player at his position. Waynes can step in and start to create a nice secondary with 2014 first rounder Kyle Fuller. Danny Shelton would be a solid pickup here as well.

Pick No. 8, Atlanta Falcons: Dante Fowler Jr., Linebacker, Florida.
The Scoop: The Falcons jump all over Fowler who is slated as a top-five pick by some. Atlanta’s defense was putrid last season, Fowlers gives an immediate upgrade to the entire unit.

Pick No. 9, New York Giants: Ereck Flowers, Offensive Tackle, Miami.
The Scoop: The Giants grab some protection for Eli Manning in a year where their offense should take a huge leap forward.

Pick No. 10, St. Louis Rams: Randy Gregory, Defensive End, Nebraska.
The Scoop: Another Nebraska defensive line prospect with character issues? Jared Crick and Ndamukong Suh are so proud. Gregory has scouts worried do to some behavioral issues, sounds like a player Jeff Fisher would take a chance on.

Pick No. 11, Minnesota Vikings: DeVante Parker, Wide Receiver, Louisville.
The Scoop: Cordarrelle Patterson has been very inconsistent, the Vikings look to get a more reliable top target for Teddy Bridgewater.

Pick No. 12, Cleveland Browns: Danny Shelton, Defensive Tackle, Washington.
The Scoop: Shelton is a prospect that is a day one starter. He could be a top-10 pick but I have him falling here where the Browns will take him and probably end his career before it ever starts.

Pick No. 13, New Orleans Saints: Arik Armstead, Linebacker, Oregon.
The Scoop: A boom or bust type of prospect heads to the Big Easy to help bring Drew Brees his second ring.

Pick No. 14, Miami Dolphins: Vic Beasley, Linebacker, Clemson.
The Scoop: Another potential top-10 guy that has been falling down draft boards helps the fans in South Beach solidify their defense.

Pick No. 15, San Francisco 49ers: Melvin Gordon, Running Back, Wisconsin.
The Scoop: Okay, I don’t really see this happening given that the 49ers drafted Carlos Hyde last season. However, I think Gordon will go in the top-20 and didn’t have a spot that made sense so this is kind of a throw away. Trent Baalke thinks he invented football, so making a move like this might make sense in his mind.

Pick No. 16, Houston Texans: Landon Collins, Safety, Alabama.
The Scoop: Plenty of mocks have Collins falling to Indy at No. 29, which is exactly what I want to happen. Since I want that to happen, it probably won’t. The Texans are shopping their current starting safety, which leaves the door open for Collins to be taken here.

Pick No. 17, San Diego Chargers: Todd Gurley, Running Back, Georgia.
The Scoop: The Chargers take a risk on Gurley who has all the talent in the world but is recovering from a torn ACL. Could be a steal.

Pick No. 18, Kansas City Chiefs: Breshad Perriman, Wide Receiver, Central Florida.
The Scoop: Kansas City needs a receiver and Perriman has shot up draft boards in the past few weeks. I’m not a big fan of Perriman but everybody else seems to have high praise.

Pick No. 19, Cleveland Browns: Bryce Petty, Quarterback, Baylor.
The Scoop: It’s traditional for the Browns to use their second pick in the first round on a quarterback (Quinn, Weeden, Manziel), why break tradition?

Pick No. 20, Philadelphia Eagles: Nelson Agholor, Wide Receiver, USC.
The Scoop: I fully expect Chip Kelly to make a move for Marcus Mariota, but if the Eagles end up keeping this pick, look for them to bolster their receiving depth with this talented prospect.

Pick No. 21, Cincinnati Bengals: Alvin “Bud” Dupree, Defensive End, Kentucky.
The Scoop: The Bengals continue to have a strong defensive presence by adding one of the draft’s top pass rushers.

Pick No. 22, Pittsburgh Steelers: Damarious Randall, Safety, Arizona State.
The Scoop: The Steelers grab a fast-rising safety to replace Troy Polamalu as Landon Collins is already off the board.

Pick No. 23, Detroit Lions: Eddie Goldman, Defensive Tackle, Florida State.
The Scoop: The Lions grab a run stuffer to help compete with the physical style of the NFC North.

Pick No. 24, Arizona Cardinals: Erik Kendricks, Linebacker, UCLA.
The Scoop: Arizona has the luxury of going several different ways with this pick but Kendricks can help to improve an already strong defensive unit in the desert.

Pick No. 25, Carolina Panthers: Kevin Johnson, Cornerback, Wake Forest.
The Scoop: A lot of people have the Panthers taking a receiver here, I think they go the opposite route and add depth to their secondary.

Pick No. 26, Baltimore Ravens: Marcus Peters, Cornerback, Washington.
The Scoop: Baltimore takes an expensive flier on Peters who has a lot of potential but a lot of baggage. He has been deemed “uncoachable” but still intrigues a lot of teams.

Pick No. 27, Dallas Cowboys: Jalen Collins, Cornerback, LSU.
The Scoop: Who knows what Jerry Jones will actually do, but the Cowboys defense can always use help.

Pick No. 28, Denver Broncos: D.J. Humphries, Offensive Tackle, Florida.
The Scoop: The Broncos want to get Peyton Manning his second ring, they take a big step towards that goal with getting some protection on the right side of the line.

Pick No. 29, Indianapolis Colts: Jake Fisher, Offensive Tackle, Oregon.
The Scoop: This is a tough call to make, I expect the Colts to trade up or down with this pick. But I selected Fisher here to solve a growing problem with the health of current right tackle Gosder Cherilus. Eddie Goldman would be another safe choice here for Indy if available.

Pick No. 30, Green Bay Packers: Stephone Anthony, Linebacker, Clemson.
The Scoop: Green Bay doesn’t need much on offense so they look to a prospect with a lot of upside here.

Pick No. 31, New Orleans Saints: Phillip Dorsett, Wide Receiver, Miami.
The Scoop: New Orelans traded away Jimmy Graham and got this pick in return. They could grab a tight end here, but Dorsett is a tempting prospect with a lot of speed.

Pick No. 32, New England Patriots: Byron Jones, Cornerback, Connecticut.
The Scoop: Does it really matter? Bill Belichick can take anybody he wants and mold a champion at any position. He’s the best there is in his profession. He carried that Tom Brady guy to four titles. (Ha! Take that, Brady!)

Chicago’s Remaining Picks

Round 2 Pick 39: Shane Ray, Linebacker, Missouri.
Round 3 Pick 71: Clive Walford, Tight End, Miami.
Round 4 Pick 106: Dezmin Lewis, Wide Receiver, Central Arkansas.
Round 5 Pick 142: Shaq Mason, Center, Georgia Tech.
Round 6 Pick 182: Adrian Amos, Safety, Penn State.

Indianapolis’ Remaining Picks

Round 2 Pick 61: Carl Davis, Defensive Tackle, Iowa.
Round 3 Pick 93: Ibraheim Campbell, Safety, Northwestern.
Round 4 Pick 128: Jeremy Langford, Running Back, Michigan State.
Round 5 Pick 165: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Cornerback/Safety, Oregon.
Round 6 Pick 205: Nick Marshall, Cornerback, Auburn.
Round 6 Pick 207: Bobby Richardson, Defensive End, Indiana.
Round 7 Pick 244: Nick Perry, Safety, Alabama.
Round 7 Pick 256: Bo Wallace, Quarterback, Mississippi State.