Jacob Eason is a quarterback Steelers won’t ignore in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Steelers still need to find a quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger hangs up his cleats. Here’s why Jacob Eason will be hard for Pittsburgh to ignore.

The Steelers have may just have a year or two left in Ben Roethlisberger’s Super Bowl window before an inevitable rebuilding phase takes place in Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin and his crew are going to want to do whatever it takes to win football games next season.

However, at a certain point, some players become too hard to ignore. One of those guys is Washington quarterback, Jacob Eason.

To the surprise of many, Eason declared for the NFL draft after his junior season in 2019. While his stats weren’t overly impressive this year (23 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 3,132 yards, 7.7 yards per attempt), his physical traits are impossible to ignore.

The 22-year old quarterback is listed at 6’6” and weighs nearly 230 pounds. He has a prototype body for the position, but his arm is what truly catches the eye. Eason has a rocket attached to his right shoulder, and his ability to throw the ball down the field has drawn comparisons to Matt Stafford.

Eason can drive the ball into tight windows, but also has the touch to drop the football in a bucket down the field. The big quarterback didn’t get a ton of time in the spotlight during his college career. Eason started his career in Georgia in 2016, but was sidelined with a knee injury, and Jake Fromm played well in his absence.

Eason sat out the entire 2018 season, due to NCAA transfer rules, but started for Washington this past season. Though he was with the team just one year, Eason did enough to make his mark and likely solidified himself as a top 50 pick in April’s 2020 NFL Draft.

Eason is a former 5-star recruit and the top quarterback coming out of high school in 2016. With Roethlisberger turning 38 years old this offseason, a player like Eason would be nearly impossible for the Steelers to pass on – assuming he falls in their range.

Eason would be an ideal candidate to site behind Ben for a year or two before taking over as Pittsburgh’s starter. His tools and toughness make him an ideal suitor for Steelers’ next franchise quarterback, and he has an arm that can cut through the wind at Heinz Field.

With questions surrounding Roethlisberger’s health and his inevitable retirement in a few years, it’s time for Steelers to start grooming the next man up. If Jacob Eason is available to Pittsburgh, he could be a player that is impossible to ignore.