Nicholas Easton (born June 16, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). Easton played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

. In the NFL, he was a member of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early years

Easton played

at Hibriten High School in

Lenoir, North Carolina Lenoir is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the northeast are the Brushy Mountains, ...

, where he earned All-State honors, served as team captain his senior year and was twice named All-Conference and All-County. As a senior, he started as a center on the first undefeated regular season team in school history. Easton was also a four-year member of the American Field Service Club and a letterman in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Easton was a conference and county champion in discus, placing fourth in the regional championships with a throw of 41.15 meters (135 ft) as a senior.

College career

Easton attended

, where he played for the

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having beg ...

team from 2010 to 2014. He did not play in any game as a true freshman in 2010. He played in 24 career games for Harvard and was a first-team All-Ivy League, BSN All-American, third-team FCS All-American and first-team FCS North All-American selection after starting all 10 contests as a senior in 2014. As a sophomore in 2011, Easton appeared in four games; he was part of an offensive line unit that helped the Crimson earn an FCS No. 2 ranking in scoring offense, tallying 374 points (37.4 avg) and 51 total

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. He helped pave the way for running back Treavor Scales to rush for career highs in yards, with 847 and touchdowns with 8. Easton did not participate on the football team in 2012. As a junior in 2013, Easton saw action in 10 games, earning All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

first-team honors, College Sports Madness All-Ivy second-team and FCS All-New England team honors. Harvard's offensive line achieved an FCS Top 10 ranking for team passing efficiency (7th overall) and allowed quarterback Conner Hempel to throw for a career-high 157 completions, 1,866 yards and 15 touchdowns. Easton was a first-team All-

, fourth-team, BSN All-American, third-team FCS All-American and first-team FCS North All-American selection after starting all 10 contests as a senior in 2014. He also earned Academic All-Ivy League honors after majoring in economics. He was part of a Crimson offensive line unit that protected quarterback Scott Hosch, allowing him to set career highs in attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns en route to a perfect 10-0 season. He helped pave the way for running back Paul Stanton to rush for a career-high 990 yards on 147 attempts and 11 touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Baltimore Ravens

Easton signed with the

as a rookie free agent on May 7, 2015. He was one of the team’s most consistent players during the preseason, earning the Ravens’ top overall grade (+9.1) from

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

. His grade from PFF was also the highest of any

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in the preseason and the seventh-best grade of any position player in the NFL.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 5, 2015, Easton was acquired by the

from Baltimore in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft ...

Minnesota Vikings

On October 6, 2015, the 49ers traded Easton and a 2016 sixth-round pick to the

in exchange for linebacker

Gerald Hodges Gerald Davon Hodges Jr. (born January 17, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round, 120th overall, of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years ...

. Easton made his first-career start in place of starting center

Joe Berger Joseph David Berger ( ; born May 25, 1982) is a former American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of t ...

in Week 13 of the 2016 season against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

. The following week, Easton again filled in for Berger for the second straight game after the veteran was unable to clear the concussion protocol. Easton earned himself a starting guard spot for the Vikings in 2017, starting 12 games at left guard before suffering a fractured right ankle in Week 16. He was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2017. On August 13, 2018, Easton was placed on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury in training camp.

New Orleans Saints

On March 17, 2019, Easton signed a four-year $24 million contract with the

to be their starting center after

Max Unger Maxwell McCandless Unger (born April 14, 1986) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League for 10 seasons. He played college football at Oregon and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round o ...

retired. On January 9, 2021, Easton was placed on injured reserve. He was released by the Saints on February 12, 2021.

References

External links

Harvard Crimson football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, Nick 1992 births Living people Players of American football from North Carolina People from Lenoir, North Carolina American football centers Harvard Crimson football players Baltimore Ravens players San Francisco 49ers players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players