ESPN host Max Kellerman expressed concern that the top three picks in Thursday’s NFL draft could be white players.
“The point is, the correlation that can be made, is that your status falls, vis a vis white quarterbacks, and so that’s why my antenna are up when I notice one, two and three this year — white guy, white guy, white guy,” Kellerman said during an episode of First Take. “But that may be correct. We need to see in the end how these guys turn out as pros.”
Kellerman was addressing the apparent slide in the draft status of Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, a black player who at one time was considered the second-best quarterback in the draft but has since seen speculation that he could be selected later.
Fields’s slide in draft status comes at the same time as the apparent rise of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, a white player who was initially not believed to be an early selection but has since seen his stock rise as draft day approaches.
MAX KELLERMAN HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT ON RIOTS
“I know it’s on my radar,” Kellerman said. “Sometimes quarterbacks rise, sometimes they fall, but what I’ve noticed in recent years, after decades of artificial barriers being put in place for black quarterbacks, is that vis-a-vis white quarterbacks, black quarterbacks in the draft tend to fall pre-draft.”
“Sometimes it’s right, like Daniel Jones looks like he’s going to be better than Dwayne Haskins. And sometimes it’s wrong. Mitch Trubisky is not as good as Deshaun Watson or certainly not Patrick Mahomes,” Kellerman continued.
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Fields, who had a prolific college career at Ohio State, has faced questions about his work ethic as draft day approaches. The quarterback also recently revealed that he suffers from epilepsy, though he insisted he keeps the condition managed with medication.
The first round of the NFL draft is set to take place Thursday.
