Lamar Jackson-Jayden Daniels showdown creates tipping point for Black quarterbacks
Star Black quarterbacks no longer are the exception – they’re the rule. Throughout the football season, this series will explore the prominence and impact of Black quarterbacks from the grassroots level to the NFL.
BALTIMORE — When do we stop counting?
This was question that kept reverberating as I anticipated the quarterback showdown Sunday between Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels: When do we stop keeping tabs on the number of Black quarterbacks entering and starring in the NFL?
I tend to watch sports through the lens of history. When it come to the NFL, I watch through the lens of Black quarterbacks. The position has been a microcosm of historic barriers and exclusion that marks the Black experience in the United States.
The NFL finally has gotten religion when it comes to Black quarterbacks. Nearly half of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks are Black. When the NFL schedule was released with Washington scheduled to meet Baltimore, no one anticipated that this perhaps would be the game of the season. We knew that Jackson, the reigning league MVP, would likely be electric but we had no idea that the young Daniels would be a revelation. Daniels has been setting the league on fire, and despite the Commanders’ 30-23 loss, Daniels continues to add to an impressive résumé.
If the season were to end this week, Jackson, Daniels, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would all be contention for league MVP honors.
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What I find refreshing is that while we may have reached the tipping point of Black quarterbacks in the NFL, the culture, the tradition and the brotherhood among those who play the position is strong and respectful.
Daniels grew up admiring Jackson. He was 15 years old in 2016 when Jackson won the Heisman Trophy.
Jackson said he admires all that Daniels has accomplished in his young NFL career. Asked Sunday if he was motivated by all of the hype about Daniels, Jackson said, “No, I believed he deserved all of the hype he’s getting. He played a tremendous game out there. He just came up short. He’s been proving it. His rookie season, for six games, he’s been playing amazing.”
Jackson grew up admiring Michael Vick. He was 4 years old in 2001 when Vick was selected first over all in the 2001 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first African American quarterback to be taken with the top pick.
Jackson is now the second leading rushing quarterback in NFL history behind Vick.
“That’s dope,” Jackson said Sunday. “Not just because it’s Mike Vick, No. 1, but all the great guys who I’m in great company with: Cam Newton, Steve McNair, like all those great guys who was before me. It’s just great to be in the discussion with those guys.”
Sunday’s game may not have been the most classic duel, but it came close — Jackson: 26 attempts, 20 completions, one touchdown and an interception; Daniels: 35 attempts, 24 completions, two touchdowns.
But the question remains: When do we stop counting? It’s a question I have been monitoring throughout my career.
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Middle linebacker used to be point of contention when the reigning racist logic was that African American players lacked the intelligence and leadership qualities to play the position.
Willie Lanier of the Kansas City Chiefs became the first Black superstar middle linebacker starting in 1967 and he went on to play for 11 seasons. By the 1980s, NFL defenses were so dominated by Black players — including middle linebackers — that we stopped counting.
We have arrived at that point with Black quarterbacks. At least I have.
Sunday’s showdown between Jackson and Daniels represented the final chapter of this extraordinary journey. This history is so rich, so real and raw for those of us who lived through it.
- In 1968, Eldridge Dickey from Tennessee State became the first African American quarterback selected in the first round by an American Football League or NFL team when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders. A year later, James Harris became the first African American to start a regular season at quarterback, with the Buffalo Bills.
- In 1987, Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory.
- In 2001, Vick became the first African American to be selected No. 1 overall at quarterback.
- In 2006, Warren Moon became the first African American quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- In 2023, when Mahomes faced off against Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, it marked the first time two African American quarterbacks played in the same Super Bowl.
Have we run out of firsts?
“I think we’re almost there now,” said FredAnthony Smith, vice president and head of non-scripted development at SMAC Entertainment, and director of the documentary Evolution of the Black Quarterback. “I know we had 15 out of the 32 starting quarterbacks that were Black this year. I think that we’re at the point where it’s going to be half the league and we’ve hit a threshold. I don’t think it’s going back. I think it’s only going to increase moving forward.”
Smith has been documenting the journey of Black quarterbacks for nearly 20 years. He thinks he’s written the final chapter.
“This is the last one. I feel like I’m done,” he said. “I feel like I don’t need to tell the story anymore because we’ve reached a point where half the league’s quarterbacks are African American.”
Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers, C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans and Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts were taken in the top five of the 2023 NFL draft. This year, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Daniels were the first two picks of the draft.
“It almost feels like that’s the victory,” Smith said. “We’ve reached the mountaintop, to paraphrase Dr. [Martin Luther] King. But once you reach the mountaintop, it’s also a perfect time to look back on what it took for you to get you up that mountain, and to pay honor and homage to the guys that got you up that mountain while they’re still alive and you can still give them their flowers.”
Williams is living history, and he revels in his historic moment. But in his view, we’ve reached a long-awaited tipping point. The history should be embraced, but it’s time to move on.
“When it comes to Black quarterbacks at this stage, you stop worrying about how many Black quarterbacks,” Williams said. “The season started with 15. There are only 32 teams in the league. That’s the halfway mark. And you have more young guys coming in. So, I think we’ve passed that stage.”
Time moves on. I only wish some of the pioneers did not have to suffer the frustration of being passed over and never given the opportunities that have been lavished on players such as Jackson and Daniels.
“I was given a great opportunity,” Williams said. “I look back on the Jimmy Rayes, the Marlin Briscoes and a lot of other guys who came before me. It was so unfair that they didn’t get the opportunity that I got and the guys in front of me got. It’s unfortunate when you see what some of the guys are doing today — Lamar, Jayden. You think about Marlin Briscoe, what he could have done if he had been given a chance.”
For those of us who are keeping score, the next frontier for African Americans in the NFL is head coaches. Hopefully, in 20 years, they will be as prevalent as Black quarterbacks have become.
In the here and now, when it comes to Black quarterbacks, Jackson and Daniels have convinced me to stop counting.