NFL Draft 2012: Russell Wilson and 14 College Stars Improving Their Stock

It's already that time of the year that the NFL Draft gurus decide who will be making the huge impact in the NFL in 2012 as a rookie?

There's so much talent roaming around college football fields these days, how can anyone narrow the field?  It's definitely one of the harder things to do as a sports writer and/or expert.

This list is not going to discriminate against the guys who are "too small" or "not ready" for NFL games—go talk to Drew Brees about being to small to play in the NFL.

After five weeks of thrilling football, these 15 guys have allowed their draft stock to sky rocket. 

15. Sean Porter, LB, Texas A&M

Porter has come out of the gate on fire for the Aggies in 2011, already racking up 5.5 sacks.

The biggest question mark for Porter so far, is his ability to drop back and play a zone coverage defense.  So far, he's failed to do well in that area.

He makes up for it with his ability to pounce on runners and blitz quarterbacks.  Porter has made 27 tackles on the season, including eight against Oklahoma State a couple weeks ago. 

He's a big man and has a powerful build.  Not many runners are able to sneak by him as he does have a great ability to stay in front of them.  So far, he's made his mark on opposing offenses.

14. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

Right now, Vontaze Burfict is hanging onto this list by a thread.  His season has not been bad by any means, but not near the caliber of some of his competition.

He's only totaled 24 tackles, but he's been able to gather four sacks.  That's not good for top five, but it is good for top ten.  He's also been able to make an interception.

Burfict, who's one of the smaller linebackers in the nation, has been unable to make a legitimate impact so far, but as far as the Pac-12 goes, he's being effective. 

Burfict has only just begun to make his impact.  If he wants to improve his draft stock, he will have to pick up the pace.

13. Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

Like Burfict, Morris Claiborne still has a little bit to prove.  Still, he's been able to make a decent 22 tackles and picked off two passes.

Claiborne was supposed to be the leader of the LSU defense this year.  Thus far, the defense has been more than efficient, and Claiborne has been able to make a difference here and there. 

Still, there's a lot of room for improvement.  He's got the speed and vision to shut down passes, we've just not seen it yet.  He's on the top-ranked team in football, so expect for his impact to be seen soon.

12. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

After four victories as the leader of the Oklahoma Sooners, Landry Jones is finally beginning to catch on fire.  He's sure to climb this list over the coming weeks.

For now, however, Jones has a touchdown to interception ratio of two-to-one.  The only reason it's that good is because he threw five touchdowns in his most recent performance against Ball State.

I give Jones credit for being able to lead the Sooners to victories over Missouri and Florida State.  He had a lot yards against Missouri—not so much against Florida State—but he made very poor passes.  It appears that some maturity time is still needed. 

As I mentioned, Jones has a lot of potential to climb this list, and he most likely will.  For now, he's still going through a few growing pains.

11. Manti Te'O, LB, Notre Dame

Manti Te'o has one of the best skill sets an LB can offer the nation right now.  The problem is that he plays on one of the league's subpar defenses.

Te'o is certainly the class of the Notre Dame defense.  Through five games, he's collected a respectable 44 tackles.  Three of these tackles have been sacks.

While these stats are not mind-boggling, they're definitely enough to make some noise.  Notre Dame has finally begun to build some momentum, and Te'o has been the answer on defense.

He may not be a great defender in a zone formation, he can definitely blitz with the best of them.  Keep your eye on Te'o, because as Notre Dame gets better, so will he.

10. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

There are a lot of doubts about Kellen Moore, and they've been surrounding him throughout his time at Boise State.  He's not real big, and apparently doesn't have an NFL arm.

I'm not sure what everyone is seeing, but Kellen Moore has been consistently one of the nation's top quarterbacks over the past three seasons. 

In 2011, Moore is trying to prove his critics wrong as he has thrown for 1,137 yards through four games, as well as 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.  His last game against Nevada was a little lackluster, but everyone has to have one bad one. 

He has consistently thrown a 69 percent completion percentage or better throughout his entire career.  NFL scouts are worried about Moore's capabilities, but the Broncos are 4-0 and continue to be in the National Championship discussion.

9. Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

Jonathan Martin blocks for Andrew Luck.  Let's say it again for emphasis: Jonathan Martin blocks for THE Andrew Luck.  Anyone seen Luck's stats recently?

He obviously has to have some protection too, and Martin is the main guy supplying that.  Swiping defenders away from the pass-heavy offense is a key point to the Stanford team.

Martin does it like the best of them.  He's a top ten talent.

8. Matt Barkley, QB, USC

I'm nowhere near the Matt Barkley bandwagon, but I can't argue with his statistics thus far in 2011. 

The USC Trojan has been pretty impressive while leading his team to a 4-1 record through five games.  Before I discuss the pros to Barkley, allow me to point out what worries me about him:  The loss against Arizona State was ugly.  This may have shown a little immaturity.

Anyway, other than the loss to the Sun Devils, Barkley has put together a very good year.  He's thrown for just under 1,600 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, two of which came against Arizona State a couple weeks ago.

Barkley's last game against the Arizona Wildcats is what really has made him stick out.  He ripped through Arizona's defense to accumulate 468 yards passing and four scores.  Talk about bouncing back.

There's a lot of upside to Barkley, most of which stems from the fact that he's a starter at USC.  That's impressive in it's own right.  His accuracy is continuing to progress and he's got one of the most powerful arms in the nation.

If he can avoid the bad games that resemble the one a couple weeks ago, Barkley can make himself a top five caliber draft pick.

7. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

LaMichael James has shown over the last couple seasons how beneficial it can be to have pure speed.  You have to catch him right away before he can really get his momentum moving forward.

James was a key instrument during Oregon's incredible run last season, and has continued to progress in 2011.  The junior has run for 613 yards and averages a whopping 9.4 yards per carry.  He's seen the end zone eight times. 

Right now, scouts aren't extremely high on James, and they're calling him a good second or third round option.  I see it different—how can a guy who's so quick and agile fail in the NFL? 

Right now, James may have the most to prove.

6. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Trent Richardson was my preseason Heisman Trophy winner.  It may have been going out on a limb, but he's put up Heisman-quality numbers so far. 

The powerful Alabama running back has produced 622 yards on the ground and 148 yards through the air.  He's also produced 11 total touchdowns.

What Richardson has done is prove that he's the class of the SEC.  I'm aware that LSU is the top dog right now, but Richardson has the most talent the SEC can put out there.  He's powerful and he's fast, which has terrorized defenses this year. 

He's competing with LaMichael James and Marcus Lattimore for the nation's top runner.  He's definitely the big board's top runner.

5. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

It's a foregone conclusion to say that Justin Blackmon is the country's best receiver.  He's got the perfect combination of size, speed and power.

Through four games for the unbeaten Cowboys, Blackmon has pulled in 38 passes for 450 yards and four touchdowns.  That means that he averages roughly ten catches for 112 yards and a touchdown per game.

He's picking up right where he left off last season when he caught 20 touchdowns.  Blackmon is proving to be the leader of the offense, which is a rare quality in a receiver. 

A.J. Green has done a good job of showing us what a top five receiver in the draft can do.  Blackmon is better, and watch for him to climb further up the Big Board.

4. Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin

At just under 6-feet tall, Wilson is one of those guys who is being discarded by Mel Kiper and Todd McShay because he's apparently too small.  Hogwash.

Russell Wilson is now in his third season as a starter and he's had a great career in the Big 10.  It appears that in 2011, he's come out to prove to everyone that he's the real deal.

Through five games—which were five victories—Wilson has thrown for 1,391 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception.  His most recent game, against a very good Nebraska defense, was one of his most defining games.  He ripped through a strong Nebraska secondary and eluded the always tough front line from Omaha. 

He's second in the nation in passer rating.  He's leading one of the best offenses in the nation, if not the single best.  Russell Wilson will prove, before the year's done, that he's worth a look in April.

3. Matt Kalil, OT, USC

Kalil is one of the most dominant forces on any front line in the country.  Coming in at 6'7" and weighing almost 300 lbs., you know he's not the man to mess with.

Kalil's job has been to protect Matt Barkley since he came in and that's what he does best.  Very few defenders are able to get past him, and I've even seen him take on two defenders at once.

Often times, Kalil is bigger than the guys on the opposite side of him.  This is not completely uncommon, but Kalil is also very agile for his size.  He can take one guy out and promptly go remove another one at the drop of a hat.

At this point, I could see Kalil being the second overall pick right after Andrew Luck.  He would do very well on the Minnesota front line.

2. Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

Wrap your head around this: Luke Kuechly has made an astounding 83 tackles through five games.

83 tackles in five games.  Talk about a superhuman defender.  Kuechly is seemingly in on every single play and is an absolute force.  He's even managed to get himself an interception.

This guy has it all.  He can pass rush, stop runners, and drop back into coverage. 

This is what we call the total package.

1. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

If you think that this guy can't play, then you simply don't understand how football works.  Coming into the season, Robert Griffin was a virtual nobody—he was effective, but not a top-notch guy.

Through four incredible games, Griffin has thrown 18 touchdowns and only one pick.  He has a completion percentage of an unheard of 82.3 percent. 

Every time he throws the ball, you can tell something good is about to happen.  I'm going to go ahead and call their loss to Kansas State this past weekend a fluke because they should've beat that team.  Forget Griffin's one mistake—the defensive breakdown is not his fault.

Griffin is becoming one a new face to the list of Heisman hopefuls.  At this point, I'd call him the front runner.