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Matisse
cornelius_blackfoot
The draft and it's socialist implications have always been interesting to me, coming from a promotion and relegation background watching football. So the rise and fall of prospects in the draft and the racial component of it is fascinating, especially when black quarterbacks fall because of perceived faults in their ability to handle the intricacies of their position, and how often they are moved from the role they've been playing since childhood to athletic/skill positions usually wide receiver, which does happen to their white counterparts but not as often or prominently.
I thought with the emergence of players of the quality of Mahomes, Watson, Wilson, Murray and Jackson, as QB's who could throw with accuracy and touch, make all the reads and progress through them, as well as audible out of plays because of defensive adjustments, whilst changing their protections, and STILL being able to gain yards with their legs, that the bad old days of typecasting black quarterbacks as being run first, not progressing through their reads, unable to be pocket quarterbacks and not being intelligent or accurate enough as their white counterparts were gone.
But the fall of Justin Fields, who is thought of as the 2nd best QB in this years draft, whose had compelling college performances, and the potential, for many, to surpass the top pick of this draft has made me wonder whether the old lazy stereotypes will ever go away. As lauded as Josh Allen has been, his principal traits of being big, strong and quick, whilst keeping plays alive with his feet, being able to run with the ball, and having a cannon of an arm are stereotypically black quarterback traits, and I wonder if he were black and in the same position would his stock have fallen as much as Fields?
Obviously the draft is still to come and Fields might be taken 2nd overall, and all the words written breaking down his play and attributes may mean nothing to a team looking for a franchise QB and instead his college play and career will determine where he lands, but I wonder if he does fall, where does this leave other black quarterbacks coming after.
Anyway here's the article that got me thinking about all of this
https://www.theringer.com/2021/4/14/22383093/justin-fields-draft-stock-narratives-pro-day