Even though the Indianapolis Colts brought in Philip Rivers on a one-year deal and are keeping Jacoby Brissett as the backup, they decided the talent of Jacob Eason was too good to pass up in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
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Eason, who has a high ceiling but plenty of work to do, has been impressing the coaching staff so far this offseason. Even though they can’t get on the field and work together just yet, the rookie has been doing his part during the online meetings.
“Overall he’s been great,” said QBs coach Marcus Brady said. “You know, I’ve been on Zoom with him — a lot of calls spending time with him installing the offense with him — and he’s done a great job. I mean, he’s worked hard, he’s asked a lot of questions and he’s picking up the offense.”
Despite being projected as a mid-Day 2 pick in the draft, Eason fell to the fourth round due to supposed work ethic and accountability concerns. The Colts believed them to be a bit overblown, and he’s shown nothing to prove them wrong since being selected.
Eason and a few of his fellow rookies in wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Dezmon Patmon have been working out on the field together during the quarantine.
Though the Colts addressed other needs earlier, they felt his value was too good to pass up when the fourth round of the draft arrived.
“Just getting him, I mean, it was great for us, to be able to get that type of talent that late in the draft,” Brady said. “Obviously he’s still young, got things to work on; he does have a lot of tools with his size and his arm.”
While Eason has to continue himself worthy of potentially getting a chance to take over the starting duties one day, he’s impressed several coaches during the early parts of the offseason.
“So Jacob (Eason) has been exposed to a lot because he’s been coached so well by Coach Petersen and his offensive staff,” said OC Nick Sirianni. “So we’re seeing as we go through these virtual meetings his intelligence, his ability to process and what he’s been exposed to. He’s definitely ahead of the curve, so that’s been exciting.”
The Colts don’t have any plans to use Eason at all during his rookie campaign but the best thing he can do is continue to get his work in while learning from the quarterbacks ahead of him and the coaching staff, which is what he’s done thus far.
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