NFL Draft Watch: Jacoby Brissett bursts onto the scene while Sean Mannion dissapears

NFL Draft Watch is your weekly guide for college players worth keeping an eye on leading up to April's draft.

On the Rise

Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington 

Arguably no player has seen their draft stock rise in the season's opening weeks as much as Shaq Thompson.

Through five games Thompson has been a turnover machine, racking up 35 total tackles, two tackles for losses, one sack, one interception, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

A converted safety who even takes some snaps at running back for the Huskies, Thompson was all over the field against No. 16 Stanford last week, scoring a 32-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery.

Between his eye-popping stats and his raw athletic ability, the former five-star recruit is almost sure to garner a mid-level first-round draft grade if he can keep up his pace.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, NC State

While Jameis Winston's come-from-behind victory against NC State Saturday may have dominated headlines, Wolfpack quarterback Jacoby Brissett managed to turn some heads with an impressive performance against Florida State's defense.

Against the Seminoles, the Junior transfer from Florida completed 32-of-48 passes for 359 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Brissett has been dominant this season, albeit against lesser competition, throwing for 1364 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception while, adding 156 rushing yards and a touchdown on 36 attempts.   

ESPN's Todd McShay has even compared the Florida-native to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, via ESPN Insider (subscription only).

"He's just a junior and is still a work in progress, but I think he has the physical tools to one day develop into an NFL QB," he wrote, adding that 11 NFL scouts where on-hand for last Saturday's game versus FSU. "(He) has a lot of Ben Roethlisberger to his game in terms of his poise, pocket presence and how difficult he is for defenders to bring down." 

Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska

There has been much debate as to where the draft's top running backs will be selected as Georgia's Todd Gurley, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon and South Carolina's Mike Davis have all made the case of being a first-round pick.

Now it's time to add Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah to that conversation.

Abdullah has rushed for over 200  yards in three of the season's first five games with his latest performance - a 208-yard three touchdown game against Illinois - being his most impressive.

The last time a running back was selected in the first-round was way back in 2012 but with a slew of Heisman-caliber running backs likely to declare for this year's draft, expect that trend to change sooner rather than later.

Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State

No one at Oregon State misses wide receiver Brandin Cooks more than Sean Mannion.

Entering the 2014 season as a dark horse Heisman candidate after a superb Junior season that saw him throw for 4662 yards, 37 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, the senior quarterback has looked lost without his star receiver.

A mediocre start to the season (903 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions) took a turn for the worse Saturday as the Trojans held Mannion to 123 yards and two interceptions of 15-of-32 passes.

At this point, the California native projects to be more of a second or third round draft prospect.

Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn 

Sammie Coates entered the season with sky-high expectations, as many predicted the Tigers receiver would quickly establish himself as one of the best wideouts in college.

With a meager five catches for 56 yards and no touchdowns through three games (he didn't play during auburn's Week 2 game against San Jose State) that has yet to happen.

To be fair, the explosive junior receiver has been hampered by a knee injury he suffered in the season opener, but the fact that he has yet to catch a pass for more than 13 yards this season is certainly troubling.

If Coates can get healthy and prove that he is still the same dynamic route runner he was  same way he did in 2013 his draft stock, in the long-run, should be fine, but for now it's on the decline.