# No, Shedeur Sanders' Draft Stock Isn't Falling Because He's a Black Quarterback

There is no evidence that black quarterbacks are treated differently in the NFL or college football, and there hasn't been for a very long time. On the surface, that should be considered progress. However, there is a subsection within the media that refuses to let the narrative naturally subside. 

This week, ESPN commentator Ryan Clark responded to reports that Shedeur Sanders' draft stock could drop because certain scouts find him "brash" and "arrogant." Clark argued that the criticism toward Sanders could be rooted in racism.

"It's not just about him being Deion Sanders' son. It's about the bravado he carries. It's about the fact that he looks a certain way. It is about the fact that the color of his skin sometimes at the position can be questioned. And I believe Shedeur Sanders is going to have to deal with that until he gets on the field," Clark said.

Clark will not be the only pundit to argue that point before the draft in April. Nearly every year, a collection of commentators and pundits turn draft talk into another conversation about black quarterbacks.

And every year, their claims sound more desperate.

During the college football season, draft analysts viewed Shedeur Sanders as the top quarterback prospect in the draft. He has since fallen to No. 2. – behind Cam Ward, a black quarterback.

If scouts viewed Sanders differently because of his skin color, as Clark suggested, they would also view Ward differently because of his. And yet, we cannot locate a single report of a scout calling Ward "brash" or "arrogant."

Moreover, there is just no relevant evidence that suggests skin color plays any role in scouting quarterbacks.

Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels were the first two quarterbacks drafted last season. They are both black. Bryce Young and C. J. Stroud were the first two quarterbacks drafted the season before. They are also both black.

Assuming Ward and Sanders are the first two quarterbacks selected this year, that would mark three straight seasons in which the first two quarterbacks drafted were black.

If NFL scouts are racist; they sure aren't very good at it.

Honest question: Which black quarterback has fallen in the draft over the past decade because of his skin color? If anyone can provide us with an answer, please tag me on X, @burackbobby_.

Either way, expect the conversation about black quarterbacks to continue well beyond the draft. ESPN won't let it die.

See the Super Bowl, for example. Moments after the Eagles defeated the Chiefs, ESPN posted a graphic celebrating not Jalen Hurts' win but his ""

The network then uploaded a graphic of Hurts with the phrase "Black History Always," referencing the company's initiative to celebrate black history every month.

Instead of highlighting his play or the Eagles derailing the Chiefs' three-peat effort, ESPN focused on Hurts' skin color. The network then posted several articles discussing Hurts' accomplishments "."

"Hurts’ performance — 293 total yards and three touchdowns — was the cherry atop yet another season of black excellence amongst the league’s quarterbacks," one article began.

What?

A black quarterback winning the Super Bowl _shouldn't_ be a story in 2025. It _was_ a story in 1988 when Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to do so. That was 36 years ago.

Thirty-five quarterbacks have won a Super Bowl. Four of them are black. So, 12 percent of the American population has won 11 percent of the Super Bowls. When will the race idolaters be satisfied? When will ESPN stop doing this, stop dividing the American people?

Apparently, not anytime soon.

We understand the belief that teams dismissed black quarterbacks 40 years ago. If that's true, it will always be part of the history of the NFL. However, any past hurdles that black quarterbacks faced do not apply to black quarterbacks today.

By all accounts, race plays zero role in how teams evaluate quarterbacks today. And claiming otherwise is disrespectful to black quarterbacks, who just want to be seen as quarterbacks.

Now, did  Cooper DeJean's pick-six in the Super Bowl (WhiteExellence) finally put the rest of the narrative that white men can't play defensive back in the NFL? 

I gotta say, I'm not seeing very many white corners in the mock draft…

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