2020 NFL Draft: Jacob Eason Quiet In Win Over USC

Washington quarterback Jacob Eason is a rising 2020 NFL Draft prospect, but he was relatively quiet in a 28-14 win over USC.

The 6-foot-6, 227-pound redshirt junior completed 16 of his 26 pass attempts for 180 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, however, he also didn’t commit any turnovers.

The Huskies’ winning effort was led by a 153-yard performance by junior running back Salvon Ahmed, which included an 89-yard run where he flashed serious juice in the open field.

Eason wasn’t asked to do much as USC’s offense struggled to get much going throughout the game, but his performance was a bit underwhelming as a whole.

He displayed good accuracy in the underneath passing game. A majority of his completions came on hitches and he displayed good timing and ball placement on those throws, although he did force one to a blanketed receiver on 3rd down in the 4th quarter.

Eason had an impressive tight-window throw on a drag route from tight end Hunter Bryant that went for a nice pickup after the catch. He placed the ball well and did a nice job throughout the game setting up his receivers after the catch.

He didn’t attempt to push the ball vertically, although he over-threw his target on his two “NFL throws”, which were 10-yard comebacks to the boundary.

The Trojans were able to make Eason uncomfortable a few times and he flashed adequate mobility moving around the pocket, but he still needs to improve on his overall feel and movement in the pocket. He had a third down where he evaded one blitzer but ran into his lineman before being brought down for a loss.

He was able to extend the play a few times and his decision-making didn’t waver when he was under duress.

Eason fits the physical profile of a traditional NFL pocket passer and he’s displayed the traits to succeed at the next level, just not in this game. He’s a prospect that is worth monitoring moving forward and has plenty of time left to elevate himself into first round conversation.