Quarterbacks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson are set to make NFL draft history
Three Black quarterbacks are expected to be selected in the first round, a first for the league since 1999, but this time betters are expecting the three to be selected in the top 10.
When the NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Kansas City, quarterbacks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson are pretty much assured to be selected in the first round. However, another Black quarterback might help the trio really blow the record open. Some insiders say Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker’s stock seems to have risen to first-round level.
If Hooker joins the other three QBs in the first round, this will definitely be a history-making draft, with four Black QBs in the first round.
At the very least, Thursday might represent only the second time in NFL history that three Black quarterbacks are drafted in the first round. The first instance came in 1999 when Donovan McNabb went second, Akili Smith third and Daunte Culpepper 11th.
The Black Quarterback Era
It took the 103-year-old NFL NFL 55 years to have its first Black Quarter, Doug Williams. That was 1978 and ten years later, Williams was the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl
Back then, Blacks were seen as not being smart enough or having the leadership skills necessary to command a team. Black quarterbacks like Williams, who came out of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, were told they had to play another position.
Things really have changed. This past season, 21 Black quarterbacks attempted at least one pass and two Black quarterbacks faced off in the Super Bowl.
Now, African American passers are among the most celebrated players in the NFL, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the face of pro sports’ most powerful and successful league.
Set back and see, what more Black quarterbacks WILL accomplish.