In leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, Vikings.com has taken a look at 30 different players hoping to hear their names called during the course of the three-day event that opens Thursday in Chicago.

Below are links to each player's Prospect Profiles spotlight in order to help pass time before the Vikings are scheduled to go on the clock with the 11th overall pick (which they **may or may not keep**), or to quickly and conveniently find out more info on draftees (listed in order of publication):

Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, a multi-talented threat who also has return experience

West Virginia receiver Kevin White, who surged as a senior and dazzled at the NFL Combine

Clemson LB/DE Vic Beasley, posted 12 sacks in 2014 and led combine linebackers in the 40-yard dash (4.53 seconds) and bench press (35 reps)

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon: the junior racked up still-hard-to-believe stats of 2,587 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in 2014

Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams: the Waconia native is thought by many to be the top tight end in the field and has potential to become a first-rounder like his father, former Giants offensive lineman Brian Williams

LSU tackle La’el Collins, a starter (13 games) at left guard as a sophomore who shifted to left tackle (25) his final two seasons and won an SEC blocking award as a senior

Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes: from a special teamer in 2012, to most-improved defender on the Spartans in '13, to All-Big 10, Waynes is ready for the next step, and it will likely be a quick one: he ran the 40 at the combine in a position-best time of 4.31 seconds

Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, a high school teammate of Teddy Bridgewater, teams knew the Crimson Tide wanted to throw Cooper the ball and still struggled to keep it from happening

Georgia running back Todd Gurley: hobbled by injuries but rarely contained by defenders, Gurley's ceiling is projected several stories above the ground

Alabama safety Landon Collins: an intimidating demeanor is backed up by solid tackling that finishes the play

Louisville receiver DeVante Parker: tied the school record for career touchdowns with 33, including 12 from Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater in 2013; Bridgewater returned to Louisville this weekend to **grand marshal** the Kentucky Derby Parade and attend Saturday's race

Pittsburgh tackle T.J. Clemmings: originally a Panthers defender, Clemmings crossed the line and started the final 26 games of his career at right tackle

TCU inside linebacker Paul Dawson, a key player on the 12-1 Horned Frogs, Dawson averaged 10.5 tackles per game as a senior and helped TCU boat race its final three opponents by a combined score of 145-16

Florida outside linebacker/defensive end Dante Fowler: selected as team defensive and overall MVP, Fowler led the Gators with 8.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hurries in 2014

Northern Iowa running back David Johnson: his game tape, stats and combine numbers have the Clinton, Iowa, native poised to be UNI's first running back selected since the 1966 NFL Draft

Mississippi State inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney: the former dual-threat high school quarterback is now a threat to offensive players, particularly when they're carrying the football

Missouri defensive end Shane Ray: sidelined at the combine, Ray recovered before Mizzou's Pro Day and ran well in the 40

Ohio State receiver Devin Smith: the maker of big plays at the brightest settings helped the Buckeyes win it all with an outlandish 28.5 yards per catch average in 2014

Duke guard Laken Tomlinson: born in Jamaica, the powerful guard didn't pick up football until his freshman year of high school after moving to Chicago in eighth grade and wound up starting 52 games at Duke

Washington cornerback Marcus Peters: stingy is a good descriptor because he allowed just 38.1 percent of passes against him to be completed and had 24 passes defensed and eight interceptions from 2013-14

Minnesota running back David Cobb: the Gophers record setter for single-season rushing attempts (314) and yards (1,626) logged 13 games with at least 100 rushing yards

Kentucky outside linebacker/defensive end Bud Dupree: played LB and DE for the Wildcats and earned All-SEC honors after each of the three seasons he started

North Dakota State running back John Crockett: the Minneapolis native first starred at Totino-Grace High School before charging for the Bison

LSU cornerback Jalen Collins: started just 10 games for the Bayou Bengals but his skills were compared by at least one analyst to recent Vikings signee Terence Newman

Washington linebacker/defensive back Shaq Thompson: awarded as the nation's most versatile player, where will he be best utilized in the NFL?

Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory, whose explosiveness helped record 17.5 sacks (ninth-most in a career by a Cornhusker) in just two seasons

South Dakota State running back Zach Zenner: the Eagan native posted three straight seasons with more than 2,000 rushing yards, becoming the first in FCS history to do so

Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff, who was a 270-pound quarterback as a sophomore in high school before transitioning to the offensive line; with past experience taking snaps, would teams ever send him in for sneaks if the rules of spotting the ball for two-point conversions change in May?

Oklahoma/Missouri receiver Dorial Green-Beckham: formerly rated the top prep player by Rivals, he's listed at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds

Miami inside linebacker Denzel Perryman, who averaged 6.1 solo tackles per game in 2014 (14th in FBS)