Image via Getty/Jamie Squire
11.
It’s not a secret that the quarterback position in the NFL has historically been dominated by white players. When you think best quarterbacks to ever play the game, you think about Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning. But in recent years, Black quarterbacks have begun to change the position and shift the way that it is viewed. Current stars such as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts have established themselves as some of the elite players at the position while Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are both projected as the top two quarterback prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. In addition to those names, you have talents like Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith, and Justin Fields doing their part to alter the preconceived notions of the position.
With the position being revolutionized, and a golden era of African American quarterbacks amongst us, it’s time to take a look at who the best of the best are at the position. A handful of current stars have made their way into the discussion, while names of those who paved the way still warrant inclusion.
Here are the 10 best black quarterbacks of all-time.
10.Lamar Jackson
Career Stats: 12,209 passing yards, 4,437 rushing yards, 125 total touchdowns (101 passing)
Awards: Two-time Pro Bowl, NFL MVP (2019), First-Team All-Pro (2019)
Lamar Jackson is an undeniable talent. We witnessed that firsthand all the way back during his days at Louisville, where he took what’s known as a basketball university and helped regain their football prominence during the late 2010s. While many skeptics ignorantly painted the picture of a player who needed to change positions en route to the NFL, Lamar has done nothing but transcend since entering the league in 2018.
In only his second year, his first time as a full-starter, he was named league MVP, a unanimous decision. He accounted for 43 touchdowns that year, and had 3,127 yards passing and 1,206 rushing yards. He followed that season up with a second consecutive 1,000 yard rushing season, becoming the only quarterback in NFL history to reach that number multiple times. Since then, Lamar has continued to solidify himself as one of the league’s bright and best young stars, helping to pave the way for recognition on this list.
9.Mike Vick
Career Stats: 22,464 passing yards, 6,109 rushing yards, 169 total touchdowns (133 passing)
Awards: Four-time Pro Bowl selection, NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2010)
Throw the numbers out the window for Mike Vick. He revolutionized the quarterback position and is arguably the most electrifying athlete to play the game of football. Although he wasn’t the first mobile quarterback, he certainly became the face of it. He wasn’t a great passing quarterback, his numbers aren’t up to par with Hall of Famers, and the dogfighting scandal destroyed his image, but his impact on the sport was immeasurable.
8.Daunte Culpepper
Career Stats: 24,153 passing yards; 2,652 rushing yards; 183 total touchdowns (149 passing)
Awards: Three-time Pro Bowler, Two-time first-team All-Pro selection
Daunte Culpepper put together one of the best single seasons for a quarterback ever in 2004, but Peyton Manning just happened to put together the greatest single season ever (at the time) for a quarterback in the same year. Culpepper’s elite status was short-lived, but over the span of the five years he tallied three Pro Bowl appearances and two first team All-Pro selections. A serious knee injury and just plain inconsistency halted his success.
7.Cam Newton
Career Stats: 32,382 passing yards; 5,628 rushing yards 269 total touchdowns (194 passing)
Awards: Three-time Pro Bowler, first-team All-Pro (2015), NFL Most Valuable Player (2015), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2015), NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2011)
Cam Newton was trending toward the top of this list but injuries have held him back from ascending. In his 2015 MVP season, Newton essentially carried a depleted Panther’s offense to a 15-1 season and a Super Bowl appearance. Although he did have a great option in Greg Olsen at tight end, his wide receivers were Ted Ginn Jr., Corey Brown, and Jerricho Cotchery. He made the most out of the little he had. It appears likely we have seen the last of Newton in the NFL, but at his peak he was one of the most electrifying and dominant players of his generation.
6.Steve McNair
Career Stats: 31,304 passing yards, 3509 rushing yards, 211 total touchdowns (174 passing)
Awards: Three-time Pro Bowl selection, Most Valuable Player (2003), second-team All-Pro (2003)
Anytime you have an MVP award on your resume, you’re in elite company—even if you had to share it with Peyton Manning. Air McNair was a dual-threat quarterback who accumulated over 30,000 passing yards and 3,500 rushing yards in his 13-year career. McNair led the Titans to the Super Bowl in 2003 but memorably fell a yard short after Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans receiver Kevin Dyson on the one-yard line to prevent a game-tying touchdown as time expired.
5.Randall Cunningham
Career Stats: 29,979 passing yards; 4,928 rushing yards; 242 total touchdowns (207 passing)
Awards: Four-time Pro Bowl selection, two-time first-team All-Pro (1990,1998), NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1992), three-time Bert Bell Award winner
Before Mike Vick came along, Randall Cunningham held the title as the best rushing quarterback of all-time. Unlike Vick, Cunningham developed as a passer over time to became a threat with his arm as well. Cunningham overcame a torn ACL in 1991 and returned to elite status the next year in 1992 despite losing some of the athleticism he displayed in the early stages of his career. He was the full package, and let’s not forget, he was a pretty good punter as well.
4.Donovan McNabb
Career Stats: 37,276 passing yards; 3,459 rushing yards; 263 total touchdowns (234 passing)
Awards: Six-time Pro Bowl selection
Despite his inability to get over the hump in the postseason and bring a Super Bowl to Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb put together a memorable career. He’s statistically the best quarterback ever to play for the Eagles, leading the franchise in passing yards, completions, and touchdowns. He also led the team to four straight NFC Championships and accumulated nine playoff wins. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 in addition to being named to the Pro Bowl six times.
3.Russell Wilson
Career Stats: 40,583 passing yards; 4,966 rushing yards; 334 total touchdowns (308 passing)z
Awards: Nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Second-time All-Pro (2019), Super Bowl champion (XLVIII), NFL Rookie of the Year (2012)
Russell Wilson’s latest campaign in Denver was objectively a disappointment, but don’t let this one season cloud your judgment on the player he has become over the course of his career. As a 9-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, Wilson has already amassed a resume that will warrant inclusion in Canton upon retiring.
Wilson is also one of the winningest quarterbacks of his generation, guiding the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons with the franchise, which also included two Super Bowl trips. As he looks to bounce back in Denver next season, even if we have already seen the best of Wilson, it was pretty damn good.
2.Warren Moon
Career stats: 49,325 passing yards, 313 total touchdowns (291 passing), 58.4 completion percentage
Awards: Nine-time Pro Bowl selection, first-team All-Pro (1990), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1990)
Warren Moon is without a doubt the best black quarterback ever to play in the NFL. In 2006 he became the first black QB inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before his 16-year career in the NFL, Moon spent six years in the CFL—making him the first HOF inductee for both leagues. In the CFL, he was a five-time Grey Cup champion and two-time league MVP.
Yes, he started his NFL career at the age of 28 and still wound up in the top 10 of the all-time passing yards leaders. Imagine where he would be on the passing leaderboards if he spent those first six years in the NFL.
1.Patrick Mahomes
Career stats: 24,241 passing yards, 1,547 rushing yards, 204 total touchdowns (192 passing)
Awards: Five-time Pro Bowl, two-time First-Team All-Pro (2018, 2022), Second-Team All-Pro (2020), two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL MVP (2018, 2022), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2018),
Patrick Mahomes is already one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game of football, and he’s only 27 years old. With two Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVPs, five Pro Bowls, and two regular-season MVPs, not too many football players, let alone athletes, have accomplished so much so quickly. With Tom Brady recently retiring, it’s obvious that Mahomes is now the golden child of the NFL.
His latest Super Bowl win against the Eagles was so impressive, not merely because of the sheer fact he was dealing with a high ankle sprain, but of the belief prior to the season that this would be a “rebuild” year for the Chiefs. Mahomes’ presence has sifted the way people view the quarterback position and hopefully changes the perspective of the historically inaccurate depiction of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. Mahomes isn’t pigeonholed by stereotypes; he can run; he can throw; he can do it all. Truly generational.