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Note: Let’s be perfectly clear, this is my opinion … and reasonable minds may differ, which is cool. No need to get nasty if we disagree, because different opinions are what FinHeaven is all about.
Every person has their favorite prospects, and often their favorites are not even the guys they rate the highest, but for some reason, they like ‘em, root for ‘em, and want ‘em on their teams. For me, that guy is Jacob Eason. Now sure, I want the second coming of Dan Marino, but let’s get one thing perfectly clear—THERE IS ONLY ONE DAN MARINO. Nobody is going to be the second coming of Dan, not Jacob Eason, not Tua, not Herbert, not Trevor Lawrence next year … nobody.
1. ARM TALENT
Arm Strength
There’s a lot to like in Jacob Eason. He has the best arm-talent in this draft, and arguably in the last decade. There is a reason this guy was the #1 QB recruit coming out of high school. Sure, Tua was a #1, as was Trevor Lawrence who is in next year’s draft class … but IMHO, Eason has more arm-talent than both of them. He is arguably the strongest arm in the class, as was verified by his 62 mph fastball at the combine (Herbert has a cannon and recorded a 60 mph fastball). Eason's gun is often described as a Howitzer, because it is rare to find a guy with this much arm-strength. But for me, that’s only part of arm-talent.
Quick Release
IMHO, more important than strength is a quick release. I’ve always been partial to QB’s with a quick release, which is one reason I was such a fan of Dan Marino at Pitt, because Marino may have the quickest release ever. In this year’s class, Jacob Eason has the quickest release. In the pro game, this is magnified, because defenses reach the QB much faster and DB’s cover much tighter, so being able to hold that ball a fraction of a second longer gives your receivers time to create a sliver of separation, making the throws look easier than they really are. The great ones always seem to be throwing pitch and catch to guys who somehow are wide open … but it’s not always what it seems.
A quick release also allows a QB to avoid the sack. There are numerous ways to avoid a sack, such as being very mobile and avoiding the rush at exactly the same time, and Russell Wilson is the master of this, as well as stepping up in the pocket and having what everyone loves to call “pocket presence”, which was a great talent that Marino also possessed. But having a quick release is special, and it simply makes avoiding the rush much easier. Pat Mahomes has a quick release and mobility, and he’s a nightmare for defenders.
Precision – Tight Window Throws
Let me define my terms here. Accuracy is what I mean when describing the CONSISTENCY of when you throw the ball in the area you want it to be thrown. Precision is what I mean when I am describing pinpoint throws that thread the needle and fit the ball into tight windows. Most QB’s are not accurate, but even fewer are precise. The ability to thread the needle typically is not something that can be taught, either you can do it, and can improve how consistently you do it, or you simply do not have enough control to do it consistently. Jacob Eason has the most precision in this class. He is fantastic at threading the needle. And like Marino in his senior season, Eason became overconfident and tried to thread the needle waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than he should have, and it led to interceptions. But make no mistake, kid can knock the wings off a junebug 40 yards downfield if the bug is flying a good route.
Accuracy – Consistent Placement
As defined earlier, this is a metric of consistency. For a QB to be accurate he needs to be able to consistently put the ball into small zone where he wants to put it … not necessarily exactly where he wants to put it. Accuracy is not inch-perfect, that is precision in my terminology. Jacob Eason is an accurate QB, but he definitely is not the most accurate, and I would say he has accuracy issues because every once in a while he just gets wild, usually because of bad footwork. Burrow, Fromm, and Tua are all very accurate. Despite Justin Herbert’s numbers, I do not believe Herbert is as accurate as those other 3, and Jacob Eason is below all 4, but far ahead of Jordan Love. If there is one best indicator of success at for a college QB it is accuracy. Unfortunately, I’d say Eason has fantastic ability, but lacks consistency. He played as a freshman, and looked like a freshman. He injured his knee, transferred and sat out, and really only played 1 other season, (last year at U. Washington), so he some of his game still is unpolished … and this is one of those areas.
2. PHYSICAL
Mobility
While Eason is not mobile, and has a LOT to learn about avoiding the rush (stop turning your back and trying to spin away Jacob! That will not work in the NFL!). He’s not a statue, but he’s not a RPO coach’s dream by any stretch of the imagination. Pocket Passer primarily. He is nowhere near the athlete that Justin Herbert is. Eason is behind Herbert, Love, Burrow and Tua as far as mobility.
Size
Fantastic size for the position at 6’5 or 6’6 and can easily carry 240 pounds. He is big and solid, and has a nice overhand motion, so he should see over the OL as they bend their needs for leverage, and throw over jumping DL. He can take a hit because he has Big Ben type size. I would call this prototypical. Size-wise, I’d put him in the top category with Herbert and Burrow, well ahead of Love and Tua.
Vision
The most underrated physical aspect of playing QB is definitely vision. I’m not talking about seeing over the OL, as most QB’s see as much between players as over them. I’m talking about seeing when your receiver is starting to break open, rather than needing to see him open before throwing it. College QB’s do not need this skill, especially at the Alabama’s and Clemson’s of the ranks, because their WR’s are monsters who physically overmatch DB’s. They have Ruggs type speed, or Jeudy type route running or Higgins type size, but those guys get waaaaaaay open. But in the NFL, many of the routes that a QB is asked to throw must be thrown BEFORE the WR has created a lot of space.
The QB needs to SEE that and process that info. Students of the game are often said to “work through their progressions” well, but that is the discipline to know when to look in the right place and understand what you see. Vision is the ability to SEE what is there and understand it instantly. Jacob Eason has instant-recognition and clarity of vision. Sure, he threw a few picks where he didn’t read the DB (like Jaylon Johnson of Utah), so there is more preparation and practice needed. But Eason is a guy who can whip his head around and instantly understand the situation, process what he sees, and get that ball out. Think of this skill like a baseball batter who can see the fastball and curveball and know where to put the bat, so always makes contact with the ball. Jacob Eason has that uncanny ability to instantly understand the situation at first glance, and that is rare. Again, Baker Mayfield does this well, as does Tom Brady and many others. Dan Marino wasn’t the cerebral QB that Peyton Manning was, but Marino instantly understood what he saw, and his vision allowed him to always find the open guy. Eason is not at that level, but I’d say he’s as good as Joe Burrow at that. Very good vision. Needs more practice to hone it though.
3. MENTAL
Read and React
For me, this is the most important aspect of a prospect. Baker Mayfield is an excellent example of someone who instantly recognizes what he sees and translates that recognition into action. The information goes from his eyes, to his head, to his arm, to his release almost instantly. So when those tiny NFL windows start to open, he can act on that and put the ball where it needs to go on time. This cannot be taught. Yeah, I’m going there again … Dan Marino was probably the best ever at reading and reacting. Eason is as good as any QB in this class at read and react. I’d rank him the best in the class at it, although Burrow, Tua and Herbert are pretty good at it as well.
Footwork
Eason has fantastic footwork most of the time. He generates tremendous torque and much of his power comes not just from his arm, but from his lower body. He shows he knows what to do. But he is a bit raw in that he doesn't consistently do it. When he gets into trouble is when he tries to throw off his back foot, and lets his footwork slip. That's youth and lack of discipline. Any decent NFL coach will fix that. But Jacob needs to put in the reps and bedisciplined enough to make it work.
Psychology
This is where Eason needs work. He is a confident leader and his teammates believe in him … but Tua and Fromm stand out in this area, and Eason is somewhere in the middle with Love, but ahead of Herbert. He needs a coach that will mentor him and guide him through the process of fulfilling his physical talents and harnessing his psychological talents. I’d call this a work in progress, and it will most likely come by his sophomore season in the NFL.
Preparation
This is why Eason lost out to Fromm at Georgia. From is fantastically diligent at preparation. Tua and Burrow check this box too. In the NFL, you want a guy who burns the midnight oil studying film. I call those Zach Tomas types. Eason has never had to be that guy, so hopefully getting drafted behind lesser talents in this draft will be the kick in the pans he needs to become that person … but it’s a gamble. When you sit out a year as a transfer, there’s zero reason why you haven’t mastered the playbook. It’s all about the “want to.” This is the area of Eason’s game that scares me, and GM’s around the league. The talent is there, but he needs to convince us that he’ll do the work. Fortunately, it’s not an ego problem with Eason … I think he is just lazy and has gotten by on talent for so long, he just honestly didn’t think he needed to study that hard. Well, he does need to study that hard. The NFL is different. He’ll adapt or fail.
Decision Making
This is an area that often makes or breaks QB's, and often is the area most rookies need improved the most. Eason still makes bad decisions. Joe Burrow does not ... but he certainly did 2 years ago. Tua rarely makes a bad decision. Fromm rarely makes a bad decision. They're prepared and resist being a gunslinger. Jacob Eason needs to get this straightened out. It's typical of young QB's , and he's only played 2 years despite being 22, so there is a lot of room for improvement and it will likely improve.
4. COMPARISON
I’ve never said this about any QB before, but this kid reminds me a little bit of Dan Marino. He has the prototypical size, howitzer arm, lightning quick release, instant-vision, precision to make unbelievably tight window throws down the field, ultimate confidence in his arm, and makes awe-inspiring plays. As a senior Dan Marino was so overconfident that he forced balls into insanely tight windows daring DB’s to intercept him … and they did. Undeterred by his poor decision making, he kept slingin’ it, and racked up a LOT of INT’s as a senior. Marino wasn’t the golden boy, that was John Elway. Marino was the 6th QB drafted in the 1st round, despite having tools that were epically drool-worthy. Gunslinger, wild cannon, low Wonderlich, lazy, rumors of being a party guy … and a lot of very good QB prospects caused Marino to slide. But looking at Marino’s talent, it’s still shocking he lasted so long. Sure, Elway, Kelly, those were some dynamite prospects as well, without those scary items to worry about. But Marino was drafted AFTER Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason (related?), and Ken O’Brien. That’s just ridiculous. If Jacob Eason fulfills his potential, people will be saying that about this draft.
Jacob Eason is a boom or bust prospect. The ceiling is HoF, because the tools are THAT GOOD. He is not mobile, and he does not appear to be a workaholic, although that might change. His floor is Matthew Stafford. Like Marino, Eason has the vision to perceive what is happening even far downfield, the info processing to instantly recognize what it means and translate that to a decision, the lightning quick release to translate that into action, and the howitzer arm to take advantage of that momentary opening. Nobody else in this class has that. He isn’t the student of the game and exceptional pre-snap read guy that Jake Fromm is. He isn’t the great decision maker that Joe Burrow is. He isn’t the mobile x-factor that Justin Herbert or Jordan Love are. He isn’t the guy who is pretty good at all of those things that Tua is. He isn’t the most accurate QB in the draft. But he is the only guy in this draft who can become a poor-man’s Dan Marino.
Best QB in this draft? Maybe not, as accuracy is super-important and work ethic is hard to change, so he may never reach is potential. But if I’m honest, this is the guy I want the Dolphins to draft. Jacob Eason will be a fan favorite for whichever team drafts him. And personally, I hope it’s the Dolphins.
In a draft of many very good surf-and-turf options, Jacob Eason is the highest end steak. In this draft it will matter what your preferences are. I prefer steak.
Every person has their favorite prospects, and often their favorites are not even the guys they rate the highest, but for some reason, they like ‘em, root for ‘em, and want ‘em on their teams. For me, that guy is Jacob Eason. Now sure, I want the second coming of Dan Marino, but let’s get one thing perfectly clear—THERE IS ONLY ONE DAN MARINO. Nobody is going to be the second coming of Dan, not Jacob Eason, not Tua, not Herbert, not Trevor Lawrence next year … nobody.
1. ARM TALENT
Arm Strength
There’s a lot to like in Jacob Eason. He has the best arm-talent in this draft, and arguably in the last decade. There is a reason this guy was the #1 QB recruit coming out of high school. Sure, Tua was a #1, as was Trevor Lawrence who is in next year’s draft class … but IMHO, Eason has more arm-talent than both of them. He is arguably the strongest arm in the class, as was verified by his 62 mph fastball at the combine (Herbert has a cannon and recorded a 60 mph fastball). Eason's gun is often described as a Howitzer, because it is rare to find a guy with this much arm-strength. But for me, that’s only part of arm-talent.
Quick Release
IMHO, more important than strength is a quick release. I’ve always been partial to QB’s with a quick release, which is one reason I was such a fan of Dan Marino at Pitt, because Marino may have the quickest release ever. In this year’s class, Jacob Eason has the quickest release. In the pro game, this is magnified, because defenses reach the QB much faster and DB’s cover much tighter, so being able to hold that ball a fraction of a second longer gives your receivers time to create a sliver of separation, making the throws look easier than they really are. The great ones always seem to be throwing pitch and catch to guys who somehow are wide open … but it’s not always what it seems.
A quick release also allows a QB to avoid the sack. There are numerous ways to avoid a sack, such as being very mobile and avoiding the rush at exactly the same time, and Russell Wilson is the master of this, as well as stepping up in the pocket and having what everyone loves to call “pocket presence”, which was a great talent that Marino also possessed. But having a quick release is special, and it simply makes avoiding the rush much easier. Pat Mahomes has a quick release and mobility, and he’s a nightmare for defenders.
Precision – Tight Window Throws
Let me define my terms here. Accuracy is what I mean when describing the CONSISTENCY of when you throw the ball in the area you want it to be thrown. Precision is what I mean when I am describing pinpoint throws that thread the needle and fit the ball into tight windows. Most QB’s are not accurate, but even fewer are precise. The ability to thread the needle typically is not something that can be taught, either you can do it, and can improve how consistently you do it, or you simply do not have enough control to do it consistently. Jacob Eason has the most precision in this class. He is fantastic at threading the needle. And like Marino in his senior season, Eason became overconfident and tried to thread the needle waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than he should have, and it led to interceptions. But make no mistake, kid can knock the wings off a junebug 40 yards downfield if the bug is flying a good route.
Accuracy – Consistent Placement
As defined earlier, this is a metric of consistency. For a QB to be accurate he needs to be able to consistently put the ball into small zone where he wants to put it … not necessarily exactly where he wants to put it. Accuracy is not inch-perfect, that is precision in my terminology. Jacob Eason is an accurate QB, but he definitely is not the most accurate, and I would say he has accuracy issues because every once in a while he just gets wild, usually because of bad footwork. Burrow, Fromm, and Tua are all very accurate. Despite Justin Herbert’s numbers, I do not believe Herbert is as accurate as those other 3, and Jacob Eason is below all 4, but far ahead of Jordan Love. If there is one best indicator of success at for a college QB it is accuracy. Unfortunately, I’d say Eason has fantastic ability, but lacks consistency. He played as a freshman, and looked like a freshman. He injured his knee, transferred and sat out, and really only played 1 other season, (last year at U. Washington), so he some of his game still is unpolished … and this is one of those areas.
2. PHYSICAL
Mobility
While Eason is not mobile, and has a LOT to learn about avoiding the rush (stop turning your back and trying to spin away Jacob! That will not work in the NFL!). He’s not a statue, but he’s not a RPO coach’s dream by any stretch of the imagination. Pocket Passer primarily. He is nowhere near the athlete that Justin Herbert is. Eason is behind Herbert, Love, Burrow and Tua as far as mobility.
Size
Fantastic size for the position at 6’5 or 6’6 and can easily carry 240 pounds. He is big and solid, and has a nice overhand motion, so he should see over the OL as they bend their needs for leverage, and throw over jumping DL. He can take a hit because he has Big Ben type size. I would call this prototypical. Size-wise, I’d put him in the top category with Herbert and Burrow, well ahead of Love and Tua.
Vision
The most underrated physical aspect of playing QB is definitely vision. I’m not talking about seeing over the OL, as most QB’s see as much between players as over them. I’m talking about seeing when your receiver is starting to break open, rather than needing to see him open before throwing it. College QB’s do not need this skill, especially at the Alabama’s and Clemson’s of the ranks, because their WR’s are monsters who physically overmatch DB’s. They have Ruggs type speed, or Jeudy type route running or Higgins type size, but those guys get waaaaaaay open. But in the NFL, many of the routes that a QB is asked to throw must be thrown BEFORE the WR has created a lot of space.
The QB needs to SEE that and process that info. Students of the game are often said to “work through their progressions” well, but that is the discipline to know when to look in the right place and understand what you see. Vision is the ability to SEE what is there and understand it instantly. Jacob Eason has instant-recognition and clarity of vision. Sure, he threw a few picks where he didn’t read the DB (like Jaylon Johnson of Utah), so there is more preparation and practice needed. But Eason is a guy who can whip his head around and instantly understand the situation, process what he sees, and get that ball out. Think of this skill like a baseball batter who can see the fastball and curveball and know where to put the bat, so always makes contact with the ball. Jacob Eason has that uncanny ability to instantly understand the situation at first glance, and that is rare. Again, Baker Mayfield does this well, as does Tom Brady and many others. Dan Marino wasn’t the cerebral QB that Peyton Manning was, but Marino instantly understood what he saw, and his vision allowed him to always find the open guy. Eason is not at that level, but I’d say he’s as good as Joe Burrow at that. Very good vision. Needs more practice to hone it though.
3. MENTAL
Read and React
For me, this is the most important aspect of a prospect. Baker Mayfield is an excellent example of someone who instantly recognizes what he sees and translates that recognition into action. The information goes from his eyes, to his head, to his arm, to his release almost instantly. So when those tiny NFL windows start to open, he can act on that and put the ball where it needs to go on time. This cannot be taught. Yeah, I’m going there again … Dan Marino was probably the best ever at reading and reacting. Eason is as good as any QB in this class at read and react. I’d rank him the best in the class at it, although Burrow, Tua and Herbert are pretty good at it as well.
Footwork
Eason has fantastic footwork most of the time. He generates tremendous torque and much of his power comes not just from his arm, but from his lower body. He shows he knows what to do. But he is a bit raw in that he doesn't consistently do it. When he gets into trouble is when he tries to throw off his back foot, and lets his footwork slip. That's youth and lack of discipline. Any decent NFL coach will fix that. But Jacob needs to put in the reps and bedisciplined enough to make it work.
Psychology
This is where Eason needs work. He is a confident leader and his teammates believe in him … but Tua and Fromm stand out in this area, and Eason is somewhere in the middle with Love, but ahead of Herbert. He needs a coach that will mentor him and guide him through the process of fulfilling his physical talents and harnessing his psychological talents. I’d call this a work in progress, and it will most likely come by his sophomore season in the NFL.
Preparation
This is why Eason lost out to Fromm at Georgia. From is fantastically diligent at preparation. Tua and Burrow check this box too. In the NFL, you want a guy who burns the midnight oil studying film. I call those Zach Tomas types. Eason has never had to be that guy, so hopefully getting drafted behind lesser talents in this draft will be the kick in the pans he needs to become that person … but it’s a gamble. When you sit out a year as a transfer, there’s zero reason why you haven’t mastered the playbook. It’s all about the “want to.” This is the area of Eason’s game that scares me, and GM’s around the league. The talent is there, but he needs to convince us that he’ll do the work. Fortunately, it’s not an ego problem with Eason … I think he is just lazy and has gotten by on talent for so long, he just honestly didn’t think he needed to study that hard. Well, he does need to study that hard. The NFL is different. He’ll adapt or fail.
Decision Making
This is an area that often makes or breaks QB's, and often is the area most rookies need improved the most. Eason still makes bad decisions. Joe Burrow does not ... but he certainly did 2 years ago. Tua rarely makes a bad decision. Fromm rarely makes a bad decision. They're prepared and resist being a gunslinger. Jacob Eason needs to get this straightened out. It's typical of young QB's , and he's only played 2 years despite being 22, so there is a lot of room for improvement and it will likely improve.
4. COMPARISON
I’ve never said this about any QB before, but this kid reminds me a little bit of Dan Marino. He has the prototypical size, howitzer arm, lightning quick release, instant-vision, precision to make unbelievably tight window throws down the field, ultimate confidence in his arm, and makes awe-inspiring plays. As a senior Dan Marino was so overconfident that he forced balls into insanely tight windows daring DB’s to intercept him … and they did. Undeterred by his poor decision making, he kept slingin’ it, and racked up a LOT of INT’s as a senior. Marino wasn’t the golden boy, that was John Elway. Marino was the 6th QB drafted in the 1st round, despite having tools that were epically drool-worthy. Gunslinger, wild cannon, low Wonderlich, lazy, rumors of being a party guy … and a lot of very good QB prospects caused Marino to slide. But looking at Marino’s talent, it’s still shocking he lasted so long. Sure, Elway, Kelly, those were some dynamite prospects as well, without those scary items to worry about. But Marino was drafted AFTER Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason (related?), and Ken O’Brien. That’s just ridiculous. If Jacob Eason fulfills his potential, people will be saying that about this draft.
Jacob Eason is a boom or bust prospect. The ceiling is HoF, because the tools are THAT GOOD. He is not mobile, and he does not appear to be a workaholic, although that might change. His floor is Matthew Stafford. Like Marino, Eason has the vision to perceive what is happening even far downfield, the info processing to instantly recognize what it means and translate that to a decision, the lightning quick release to translate that into action, and the howitzer arm to take advantage of that momentary opening. Nobody else in this class has that. He isn’t the student of the game and exceptional pre-snap read guy that Jake Fromm is. He isn’t the great decision maker that Joe Burrow is. He isn’t the mobile x-factor that Justin Herbert or Jordan Love are. He isn’t the guy who is pretty good at all of those things that Tua is. He isn’t the most accurate QB in the draft. But he is the only guy in this draft who can become a poor-man’s Dan Marino.
Best QB in this draft? Maybe not, as accuracy is super-important and work ethic is hard to change, so he may never reach is potential. But if I’m honest, this is the guy I want the Dolphins to draft. Jacob Eason will be a fan favorite for whichever team drafts him. And personally, I hope it’s the Dolphins.
In a draft of many very good surf-and-turf options, Jacob Eason is the highest end steak. In this draft it will matter what your preferences are. I prefer steak.
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