Twenty-six players confirmed for NFL draft, but no Jamies Winston or Marcus Mariota

The 2015 NFL draft in Chicago will be a quarterback-free environment.

The league's first draft foray outside of New York will be lacking in star power for the first round on April 30, when 26 prospects are scheduled to attend — but there will be no Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota there. On the list of players the NFL confirmed have RSVPed to the event, there are zero quarterbacks who will stride across the stage to bro-hug Roger Goodell as of now.

Mariota previously said he intends to be in his native Hawaii for cultural and familial reasons. Winston has yet to officially say he's not attending the draft but did say he wanted to stay home because his grandmother is too ill to travel.

Also conspicuously absent from the list of invitees: Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper. The Biletnikoff Award winner is a candidate to go in the top 10, perhaps as high as No. 4 to the Oakland Raiders, and is in a battle with West Virginia's Kevin White to be the first wideout selected.

White is attending. So are other potential top-10 selections such as Clemson's Vic Beasley, Florida's Dante Fowler Jr. and USC's Leonard Williams.

Among the more interesting invitations is Nebraska's Randy Gregory. No one would have been surprised had he opted out of attending in light of his positive drug test at the NFL scouting combine, which could preclude a Draft Day slide and an awkward green-room experience. But Gregory will be in Chicago, along with some other players — such as Duke's Laken Tomlinson, a Chicago native — who might have to bring a second suit in case they're not selected on Thursday.

Rounds 2 and 3 continue on Friday, and last year the New England Patriots freed Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from falling farther by taking him with the penultimate pick of the second round — the final green roomer to be picked in 2014.

Could Winston change his mind and attend? Sure. But right now, this is your starting 26.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm

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