Bestselling author gives credit to Cam Newton and others for the success of Black QBs: “Doug Williams normalized the idea”

Cam Newton and countless other Black quarterbacks paved the way for CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Kyler Murray to name a few. The success of Black quarterbacks in the NFL has been a topic of discussion for decades. It was a game-changer when Doug Williams led Washington to a Super Bowl win in 1988.

Bestselling author John Eisenberg credited Williams and Newton for the success of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Eisenberg listed other Black quarterbacks who played a vital role in that success:

"There were ZERO Black starting quarterbacks in the NFL as recently as 1983. But Moon joined the Houston Oilers in 1984 and the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Randall Cunningham a year later. Soon, Moon and Cunningham were among the best quarterbacks in the game, and that would remain the case for more than a decade.

"Those two and Doug Williams, who led the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl victory in 1988, normalized the idea of using a Black player at quarterback in the NFL. I also think the generation that included Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick helped show the football world how dynamic Black quarterbacks could be."

Williams also was the Super Bowl MVP in the 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos. He would be far from the last to make it to the big game.

In total, eight Black quarterbacks have started under center in a Super Bowl. Cam Newton led the Carolina Panthers in the 2015 season to Super Bowl 50.

Besides Williams, the only Black quarterbacks to win it all are Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes. Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to win it all in the 2013 season while Mahomes has won three Lombardi Trophies over the last five seasons.

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How many Black QBs went No. 1 overall besides Cam Newton?

Cam Newton was the top pick of the Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft. Before that, the Oakland Raiders went with LSU star JaMarcus Russell as the No. 1 overall in the 2007 draft. The 2001 draft saw history made as the Atlanta Falcons took Michael Vick with the first pick.

In total, six Black quarterbacks went No. 1 overall in the modern draft. This includes Bryce Young in last year's draft, picked by the Carolina Panthers. The other two signal-callers were Kyler Murray by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and Jameis Winston by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015.

Another quarterback could join this group as USC star Caleb Williams is being viewed as the No. 1 pick in April's draft.

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