No. 8 or 88? Lamar Jackson and the black QB dilemma

At the height of former Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's domination of college football, my friend and I started a running joke.

Jackson, the 2016 Heisman winner and one of the most dominant players to ever play college football, was in for a rude awakening once he decided to enter the NFL Draft.

Despite his video game number playing quarterback at Louisville, passing for 9,043 yards, 69 TDs and a 57 percent completion percentage while rushing for another 4,132 yards and 50 TDs, we agreed that some NFL executives would see fit to ask Jackson to play a new position at the pro level.

We joked Jackson would come into an NFL practice one day expecting to put on his usual No. 8, but hanging at his locker would be the No. 88 and a pair of those fancy Nike receiver gloves. (FYI: NFL receivers can only wear a number between 10-19 and 80-89.)

When demanding an explanation from coaches, the head coach would say something like: "We just want to give you a different look," or "We think you can have a bigger impact for the team lining up at receiver."

Despite the success of black quarterbacks in recent years, there's still a stigma among NFL executives that they aren't capable of leading an NFL offense. Coaches marvel over a player with Jackson's athleticism but deem players like him incapable of being the franchise star.

After all, the quarterback spot is the most demanding and important position on the team coaches look for a certain "guy" to lead their franchise.

When evaluating black quarterbacks, coaches and scouts historically are more skeptical of their height, weight, accuracy, and decision making than other QB prospects.

The latest case study: Jackson.

Former Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian and ESPN analyst had this to say about Jackson recently, per Pro Football Talk:

Short and a little bit slight," Polian said of Jackson. "Clearly, clearly not the thrower that the other guys are. The accuracy isn’t there.

Now mind you, Jackson is listed at 6 feet 3 three inches tall and weighs about 212 pounds. In 2016, 14 of 32 starting quarterbacks were listed at 6'3" or shorter including Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford and Russell Wilson.

As far as accuracy concerns, Bleacher Report pointed out that Jackson's 59.1 percent rate in 2017 is higher than the 56.3 posted by Wyoming's Josh Allen. Yet "draft guru" Mel Kiper had Allen going No. 1 to Cleveland in his first mock draft last month.

But wait there's more! Guess what position Polian said Jackson should consider?:

I think wide receiver,” he said. “Exceptional athlete, exceptional ability to make you miss, exceptional acceleration, exceptional instinct with the ball in his hand and that’s rare for wide receivers. That’s [Antonio Brown], and who else? Name me another one, Julio [Jones is] not even like that.

While black quarterbacks are afforded more chances to stick at the position in the NFL today, people weren't always warm to that idea. Check out what former Philadelphia Eagles coach Buddy Ryan had to say defending his QB Randall Cunningham early in his career:

For decades now, black quarterbacks have had to deal with the stigma that weren't capable of playing their position at the highest level. It took Doug Williams leading the Redskins to a Super Bowl win 30 years ago for black quarterbacks to across the league to be given closer look.

If you've watched ESPN's NFL coverage you know coaches love to gas up the "prototype" pocket passer QB. Watch or read scouts' and they'll usually mention something how he has great size (usually around 6'4 and 225 pounds) with a rocket for an arm, can "stand in the pocket and make all the throws," and finish it off with, "he has all the intangibles." But that same guy gets in the game and can barely throw a slant.

Is Jackson the perfect QB prospect? Of course not. He does in fact need to improve his accuracy. Also, his running ability means he will take more hits and risk more injuries. At times he reminds you of Robert Griffin III who seemed destined for stardom as a rookie in Washington before injuries and a clash with a coaching staff sent his career in a downward spiral (Griffin was last seen quarterbacking the Browns in 2016.)

Does every black QB prospect need a chance? Obviously not, but coaches tend to be quicker to bench a black QB if he struggles.

Yet with the success we've seen players like Mike Vick, Russell Wilson (Super Bowl champ), Cam Newton (2014 MVP), and Deshaun Watson before his injury, one wonders why Jackson can't be as good or better than them.  The key is having a franchise willing to invest in his skill set the same way teams are ready to invest in Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield.

After all, for every Randall Cunningham, there's a Terrelle Pryor or Antwaan Randle-El that had to slip on a pair of receiver gloves to keep earning those NFL checks.