Can Eason overcome his consistency issues in the NFL?
Jacob Eason one week will look like Brett Favre and the next week will look like Blaine Gabbert. There are some elements like poor pass protection and a healthy amount of drops that make him look more inconsistent than he actually might be. However, there are parts of his game that he needs to be more consistent in, if he wants to last in the NFL.
Games watched: California, Oregon, Utah, and Boise State (Las Vegas Bowl)
Attributes
Accuracy
On paper, accuracy doesn’t seem like the biggest issue, but it’s probably his most inconsistent attribute. Ball placement is all over the place. Some games he’s fitting it into tight windows or only in a place where his guys can get it. Other games it’s slightly behind or in front. Sometimes just a hair overthrown or under thrown. Part of which leads to some the drops mentioned earlier. Down field touch teases you a lot because when does apply touch it’s a thing of beauty, but tends to put a little too much on it and overthrows everyone. The ability is there, just got to channel it properly.
Improvising
He is certainly willing to improvise. He might believe in his ability to improvise a little too much, but you take the good with the bad. He spins out of the pocket often, even when pressure isn’t there. So a lot times he extends plays and makes something of it. Other times he spins unnecessarily and either takes a bad sack or limits himself to one or two throwing options.
Arm Strength
Yes please. Watching his early days in Georgia you saw the raw physical ability and just thought of the possibilities. I’d say he’s probably got the strongest arm in the class and there are no throws he can’t make with that kind of strength. The one issue with that–and in a lot of cases of very strong arms–is he tends to know only one speed when throwing, which again, can and does lead to some drops. So for this ability it’s more about calibrating.
Mobility
Eason’s mobility is a tick above average. He can move around when there’s pressure and take off running occasionally. It’s just not elite or enough to make him a dual-threat. So in moderation, this can be used as a weapon.
Pocket Presence
He might suffer from happy feet occasionally. As mentioned he seems to spin out of the pocket or move up in the pocket when it doesn’t seem necessary. As mentioned the pass protection–in the games I watched atleast–was subpar. For the most part, he generally has a good feel in the pocket when it comes to pressure.
Decision Making
The one thing I found interesting about Jacob Eason is even though he has a lot of physical abilities he doesn’t put the ball in harms way as much as other guys who share similar physical capabilities. Sometimes he bites the bait the defense lays out, but that’s rare and I wouldn’t consider it a conscious decision to force the ball into a high risk situation. He generally takes what’s there and only misses an underneath throw occasionally while looking for a play downfield.
Pros
- Elite arm strength
- Good decision making
- Above average ability to improvise
- Above average mobility
- Uses his eyes to look off defenders
- Good almost great footwork w/a good throwing base
Cons
- Accuracy/ball placement is wildly inconsistent
- Down field touch is subpar but has potential
- Only seems to throw fastballs
- Has happy feet occasionally
Summary
Jacob Eason has a lot of potential and great physical abilities. However, his inconsistencies with accuracy and learning to take a little mustard off with some of his throws will be critical when it comes to success in the NFL. He could be a guy you draft in day two and start or a guy who just sits behind a veteran and learns. But on some level you will always have to deal with highs and lows with Eason, the main goal is just to make the highs really high and keep the lows from turning into “Jameis Winston” lows.
Draft Projection: Day 2 (2nd or 3rd round)
Potential Fits:
- Miami Dolphins
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Chargers
You can view the rest of our NFL Draft breakdowns here.