LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 21: Quarterback Jacob Eason #10 of the Washington Huskies looks to pass against the Boise State Broncos during the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
After one season playing close to home, Washington quarterback Jacob Eason will enter the 2020 NFL Draft.
Washington’s Las Vegas Bowl win over BYU was known beforehand to be Chris Petersen’s last game as head coach. Turns out it was also quarterback Jacob Eason’s last game for the Huskies, as the fourth-year junior has announced he will enter the 2020 NFL Draft.
Eason played one season at Washington after transferring from Georgia and sitting out the 2018 season. He started all 13 games this season, completing just north of 64 percent of his passes for over 3,100 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Eason arrived at Georgia as the No. 2 ranked pro style quarterback in the country in 2016, and he played in all 13 games (making 12 starts) as a freshman. He began 2017 as the starter, but an injury opened the door for Jake Fromm to take over and the rest is history as the Bulldogs went to the College Football Playoff.
Since he went to high school at nearby Lake Stevens, and with Jake Browning heading into his final season in 2018, Washington was an easy transfer destination for Eason when he took that path.
Eason’s statement announcing the decision to forego his final season of eligibility said, in part:
After contemplating my future with my family and coaches, I have decided to forego my fifth year of college and enter the 2020 NFL Draft. The opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL has been a lifelong dream, and my heart is set on the challenge ahead.
Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has Eason ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the 2020 draft class, behind Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa now carries some legit injury concerns fresh off a severe hip injury, so it’s worth wondering how much shine will come off him as a prospect. In terms of other quarterback prospects, Oregon’s Justin Herbert (the No. 4 quarterback in Wilson’s current ranking) is in the first-round conversation for most people.
It’s hard to tab Eason as a sure-fire first-round pick right now, but the premium placed on quarterbacks makes it possible he rises. If he doesn’t go on Day 1 of the draft, he should go off the board sometime in the top half of the second round.