Washington football’s star quarterback has been one of the most polarizing prospects in this year’s draft class, so what would his best fit at the NFL level be?
Jacob Eason might not end up being Washington football’s highest-drafted quarterback, but he has the arm talent to become arguably the most successful Husky quarterback at the NFL level. A lot of that will come down to where Eason is drafted, and how he’s utilized within that scheme. With that being said, what are some of the best NFL fits for him?
Note: the teams will be listed in order of their first-round draft position.
Carolina Panthers
It doesn’t look like the Panthers will be moving on from Cam Newton in 2020, but they could draft his replacement in Eason. Newton will be a free agent at the end of the 2020 season, and with a huge cap hit, significant drop in production over the last few seasons, and growing injury history it might be time for the Panthers, who are heading into a new regime under Matt Rhule, to move on from the former MVP.
Enter Eason, who would have an extremely talented supporting cast to work with in young star receivers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel, along with the best running back in the league, Christian McCaffery to catch passes for him out of the backfield. Even if the Panthers decide to retain Newton for the 2020 season, it would be a great idea for them to take Eason with the seventh overall pick, and let him sit behind Newton for a year and let him develop.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Switching from one gunslinger to another with an elite receiving corps, Bruce Arians’ offense would thrive with Eason at the helm. With Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and O.J. Howard at his disposal, Eason would be a heavy contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year in Tampa Bay.
Working with Arians would do wonders for Eason as well to improve on some things like his footwork that are some of his biggest knocks coming out of college. In my opinion, this is probably the best fit for Eason, with the established receiver talent, the league’s best quarterback tutor as his head coach, and a developing offensive line and run game that can take a lot of pressure off him.
New England Patriots
Tom Brady could be on his way out the door, and Eason would be a perfect fit to replace him. The Patriots have a few young receivers in N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers that Eason could gain chemistry with early, along with an established veteran in Julian Edelman as a safety net. New England’s complex offense would potentially take a little longer for Eason to learn, but he has a reliable (when healthy) offensive line, and a good running game to fall back on, so he can take his time to develop while learning on the job.
Prediction
Tampa Bay: They currently hold the 15th pick, and with the way the board will probably fall, the Bucs are going to be in prime position to pick a quarterback. Jameis Winston is a free agent, and they probably won’t want to pay the guy who just threw 30 interceptions in a season. Eason would slot right in with all the talent that Tampa Bay has, and could end up being the most productive of all the rookie quarterbacks in Arians’ system.