Jacob Eason is the Most Underrated Player in the 2020 NFL Draft
The 49ers don’t need a starting quarterback for 2020 -- they have Jimmy Garoppolo. But he’s expensive, and they can cut him after next season and the NFL can be a cruel world. So they might look to draft a quarterback to develop for the future.
Funny things happen.
If the 49ers take a quarterback, they should trade down to Round 2 for Washington quarterback Jacob Eason, the most underrated player in the draft.
Eason was the No. 1 quarterback in the country when he graduated high school in 2015. He could have gone to any school in the nation. He chose to go to Georgia and play for head coach Mark Richt. But Georgia fired Richt before Eason ever arrived on campus.
This was the first of a series of unfortunate events for Eason.
Richt’s replacement was Kirby Smart, a defensive coach who favored a run-first, conservative offense. Not the best environment for a young quarterback. Still, Eason started as a true freshman in the SEC and won eight games.
That same year, Joe Burrow, the likely No. 1 pick, was a backup at Ohio State who appeared in five games and attempted just 28 passes. And Justin Herbert, a likely top-five pick, started eight games at Oregon and won just two. Eason was better than both of them.
But in 2017, Eason injured his ankle and never regained the starting job from Jake Fromm, a game manager. So Eason transferred to Washington. He had to sit out a second-straight season.
Imagine if Eason had transferred to LSU in 2018, as Burrow did. Maybe Eason would be the No. 1 pick and Burrow would be a second-rounder. At LSU, Burrow played with two future first-round picks at wide receiver -- Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr. Plus LSU had one of the best offensive coordinators in the country -- Joe Brady. The Panthers hired him to be their offensive coordinator this offseason.
Eason played with no first-round picks on offense at Washington. And yet, after sitting for two years, he still won eight games in 2019. Then Washington head coach Chris Pederson resigned. So Eason declared for the draft. What was the point of staying and learning yet another offense?
Another unfortunate event for Eason.
Despite all his bad luck, he remains an intriguing prospect because he’s the only quarterback in this draft with an elite trait: his arm. It’s as strong as Patrick Mahomes’.
Some draft experts say Eason is too tall because he’s 6’6”, but height is irrelevant for quarterbacks. Arm length matters. The longer the arm, the more difficult it is to throw accurately. Eason’s arm is the same length as Carson Palmer’s and Tom Brady’s.
Eason is the ideal project for teams that favors pocket passers. Teams like the 49ers. If the 49ers draft him, in a couple years he could be the best quarterback from this draft. He just needs some luck for a change.
