It turns out that a second-round talent was able to fall to the Colts in the fourth round as they possibly drafted the quarterback of the future with the 122nd pick.
It’s no secret that the Colts needed a quarterback of the future after how poorly Jacoby Brissett played a season ago. They decided to sign Philip Rivers to a one-year deal in free agency to make a run at a Super Bowl now, but that didn’t address the long-term future of the position.
Their fourth-round pick may have done just that. The Colts selected Washington quarterback Jacob Eason with the 122nd overall pick. Eason was considered a possible second-round talent but fell all the way to the middle of the fourth round.
The biggest reason for that fall is consistency problems. Eason has prototypical size at 6’6 227 and has a dynamic arm in terms of strength. Even with his superior arm strength, he made some questionable decisions at times, including holding onto the ball too long.
Eason also only completed 58% of his passes in the fourth quarter as opposed to 73% in the first quarter. That is something that has to be improved upon. The good news is, he won’t be expected to start right away. He has time to learn and be coached up while he is behind Philip Rivers.
One other problem with Eason is his maturity. According to people around the draft evaluation process, Eason has some accountability issues. He is going into a great locker room with a great coach, so hopefully he can learn to put those issues behind him.
This selection also further dirties the future of Brissett. This leaves three quarterbacks on the roster. Brissett is more than likely going to be used as trade bait because of this pick. There is also a chance that they let Brissett and Eason compete for the backup position in training camp.
I have been very vocal about the talent that Eason possesses and how he could be the Colts’ QB of the future. Now we get a chance to see if he has the tools to be just that.