A New Narrative for African-American Quarterbacks
In 2018, when asked if Louisville prospect Lamar Jackson should switch to wide receiver or stay at his current position at quarterback, former Indianapolis Colts General Manager Bill Polian said that he should make the switch to wide receiver due to him being “short” -despite Jackson standing at 6’3 – and further criticizing his passing ability, saying his “accuracy isn’t there”.
Clay Travis of Fox Sports radio questioned Jackson’s intelligence after a poor score on the Wonderlic Test, even though the test is not a test on intelligence, or even football IQ, but only workplace critical thinking.
Jackson was seen as a long-term project, someone who doesn’t have the IQ to play at an NFL level early on.
Later in 2018, he would be drafted as the 32nd pick in the 1st round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. After sitting behind veteran, Super-Bowl winning quarterback Joe Flacco in his rookie season, he would go into the 2019 season being the full-time starter.
In his first full year starting, Lamar Jackson would have one of the greatest seasons in NFL history and win the MVP. In only his second season, the Florida native who was supposed to be a “long-term project” and needed many years to develop was now an undeniable top-5 QB in the league.
5 years later in the 2024-25 season, Jackson had one of the most efficient passing seasons of all time and finished second place in the race for what would have been his 3rd MVP in his still relatively young NFL career.
Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts was drafted originally to be a backup to Carson Wentz in 2020. Now, in 2025, Jalen Hurts just won the Super Bowl (and Super Bowl MVP) against the Kansas City Chiefs, and Carson Wentz was on the Chiefs sideline watching.
Scouts questioned if Heisman Winning QB Jayden Daniels’ ability as a passer would translate to the NFL. This season, he won Rookie of the Year and led the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship.
Every year, we see Black quarterback prospects be questioned about their leadership ability, their ability to throw the football, and sometimes what can be most insulting, their intelligence.
2023’s 1st overall pick in the NFL draft, Bryce Young, was quick to be ridiculed for poor play despite only being in his sophomore year. He soon proved doubters wrong after coming back from being benched and putting up great stats, overall playing good football for the Carolina Panthers.
African-American QBs have always been heavily criticized and have found it harder to find success in the league. Ideas stemming from social darwinism, which is a theory that some races are superior than others, claimed that Black quarterbacks were mentally inferior.
The position of quarterback is the one position where your mental capabilities are more important than physical. Tom Brady is a below-average athlete, but his football IQ led him to winning 7 Super Bowls.
Many different African American quarterbacks would talk about the struggles and the harsh criticism of being a Black QB. NFL Veteran Tyrod Taylor would say, “It’s always going to be twice as bad just because of who I am– an African-American quarterback”. NFL Legend Michael Vick would say that “A lot of us aren’t viewed as passers– we’re viewed as athletes”.
A study done by Howard University that analyzed scouting reports from 1998 to 2007 showed that African-American quarterbacks were criticized more for their mental ability, while their white counterparts were often praised.
Despite evidence of prejudice, in the 2010s and 2020s, African American quarterbacks would continue to persevere, with fans of the league attributing some of the most iconic moments and seasons to African-American quarterbacks: Russell Wilson’s sophomore Super Bowl Campaign, Patrick Mahomes & Lamar Jackson’s MVP campaigns, and this past year, Jalen Hurts’ Super Bowl MVP and Jayden Daniels’ historic rookie of the year campaign. These are some of the greatest stories in recent sports history, despite the heavy criticism they faced coming into the league.
This won’t be the end of Black QB play in the NFL, with players such as Caleb Williams, C.J. Stroud, and even upcoming draft prospects such as Sheduer Sanders and Cam Ward all looking to continue to develop into stars in the league.
The future is bright for the quarterback position, and a new narrative is being written for African-American’s in the NFL.