TERRY MOSHER

JACOB EASON

TOP OF THE TOWN – It’s not surprising Washington quarterback Jacob Eason wasn’t picked until 121 other players were chosen in the NFL draft. Easton, who went in the fourth round to the Indianapolis Colts, was not what he was hyped to be this last football season in which Washington finished a disappointing 8-5. Eason, who played high school at Lake Stevens and then choose to go to Georgia where he started as freshman, but after he was injured his sophomore season could not beat out Jake Fromm who had replaced him. So the 6-foo6-6 Eason transferred to Washington, sat out a transfer year, and then last season became the starter for the Huskies. His strong arm could not overcome weaknesses to be the impact player many thought he would be. His inaccuracy and wilting under pressure marked him as an inconsistent performer. There were also questions of leadership and a report that he was lazy. That, coupled with reports that he did not interview well with teams led to him dropping down draft lists behind Joe Burrow (the first pick in the draft to Cincinnati), Tua Tagovailoa (to Miami with the fifth pick), Justin Herbert (to Los Angeles Chargers with sixth pick), Jordon Love (to Green Bay with the 26th pick and Jalen Hurts (second round, 53rd pick to the Philadelphia Eagles). It’s tough to make it in the NFL. Ask Washington quarterback record-setter Jake Browning. He went undrafted last year and signed as a free agent with Minnesota. He was on the Vikings’ practice squad this past season. Eason has the best arm of any of the quarterbacks taken in this year’s draft, including James Morgan of Florida International that was chosen three spots after Eason by the New York Jets and, drum roll please, Fromm, chosen in the fifth round with the 167th pick by the Buffalo Bills. Eason’s size and his arm strength are just what NFL teams are looking for, so it’s not surprising a league team took a shot on him. The Colts figure he can sit behind Philip Rivers, who signed a one-year contact with the team, and Jacoby Brissett, the former starter who figures to be Rivers’ backup. You want to wish Eason well. It’s isn’t going to be easy, though. He may have to stand along the sidelines for more than one year, unless there are injuries that force him into the lineup. He fits the Colts’ offense, but still must learn to make difficult throws while under extreme pressure from defenders bigger, stronger and quicker than what he experienced with the Huskies. Can he do it? Maybe. But he has to overcome a lot of experts who think he can’t. He doesn’t have the quickest feet and in his year with the Huskies he had trouble scrambling away from trouble. So we’ll see. … I don’t have the expertise to rate the Seahawks’ draft during which they took eight players. However, I’m going to watch with high anticipation how the last pick does. That would be Stephen Sullivan, who the Seahawks took with the 251th pick of the draft from LSU. Sullivan started out as a wide receiver for the national champions and played his final season as a tight end. We know that coach Pete Carroll loves toughness. Well, he got a tough one in Sullivan. The 6-5, 250-pound Sullivan was homeless for a brief time in high school and moved in with a friend’s family for his last three years of high school.  If you can’t root for somebody like that there is something wrong. He is a project, but Carroll likes to get guys like this and coach them up. So it will be interesting to see how that goes. Well, that’s it for today. Be safe.

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