NFL Draft Watch is your weekly guide for college players worth keeping an eye on leading up to April's draft.
On the Rise
Connor Halliday, QB, Washington State
Yes, Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense is designed to produce ridiculously inflated stat lines, but the numbers that Connor Halliday put up against UCLA last week were otherworldly.
Against the Golden Bears, Halliday completed 49-of-70 passes for an NCAA-record 734 yards and six touchdowns in a 60-59 loss that saw both teams combine for over 1400 yards of total offense.
In six games this season, the 6-foot-4 201-pound senior has thrown for 3,052 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions. With those kinds of eye-popping numbers, Halliday may force NFL scouts to give him a deeper look.
Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper will, in all likelihood, be the first receiver taken in April’s draft, but NFL teams who miss out on the nation’s No. 1 receiver may want to turn their attention to Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong.
After shredding UCLA’s secondary for 12 catches and 146 yards, Strong had his best game of the season against USC last week, catching 10 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns.
At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, Strong is two inches taller than Cooper and has displayed incredible size and strength in the Sun Devils’ offense.
If he can keep up this pace, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Strong be one of the first five receivers selected in the draft.
Nate Orchard, DE, Utah
Few defensive players in college football had the type of week that Nate Orchard had, as the senior defensive end proved to be one of the best pass rushers in the nation after a four-sack, 11-tackle performance against UCLA.
After the game, fellow defensive end Hunter Dimick called the 21-year-old senior “a freak athlete ... that teams have to game-plan for."
With an NCAA-leading 8.5 sacks on the season and a reputation as a locker-room leader, Orchard’s draft stock is rising by the minute.
On the Decline
Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
After an impressive performance against Arizona State that saw him throw for 355 yards and four touchdowns, Brett Hundley looked pedestrian against Utah.
It’s not that his 268 yard, two touchdown and one interception game was especially bad, but Hundley looked uncomfortable and at times flustered under pressure in the pocket.
While Hundley has the arm strength needed to become an NFL quarterback, his lack of pocket presence will almost certainly be a concern for scouts going forward.
Taysom Hill, QB, BYU
It's painful to add Hill to the On the Decline list because, prior to his gruesome season-ending leg injury against Utah State University, he looked poised to make the NFL.
Sure, his lack of accuracy and reliance on his mobility probably meant that he would have had to switch positions in the NFL, but teams will always have room on their roster for a playmaker as dynamic as Hill.
Hopefully the junior can make a full recovery and continue to impress scouts in 2015.
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
Maybe it was a little premature to start heralding Ameer Abdullah as the best running back in college football.
Sure, it may have been unrealistic to think the senior would achieve his third-straight 200-yard game against Michigan State’s elite defense, but it would have been reassuring to see Abdullah rush for more than 45 yards on 24 attempts, even though he did manage to salvage his stat line with two goal line touchdown runs.
Not to take anything away from his incredible season, but Abdullah will have to prove to scouts that he can produce against stout defenses.