Why Were No White Cornerbacks Selected in the 2025 NFL Draft?

When Cooper DeJean pick-sixed Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl last February, it sparked hope that the NFL had finally turned a corner, breaking the longstanding stereotype facing white cornerbacks.

For decades, white corners have heard they were too slow, couldn't jump high enough, and lacked the ball skills to compete at the professional level.

Unfortunately, the systemic color barrier reared its ugly head again during the 2025 NFL Draft. Not a single white corner heard his name called despite nearly 260 selections.

Cooper DeJean may embody #WhiteExcellence, but most NFL franchisees still struggle to imagine a white boy going step-for-step with the NFL's fastest receivers.

Take a team like the Packers, for example. The 106-year-old franchise has never drafted a white cornerback in the first round. Not once. Clearly, teams like Green Bay would rather lose without a white man in the secondary than win with one locking down top-flight pass catchers.

So much the era of the #ExcitingWhites, amirite?

TOPSHOT - Philadelphia Eagles' defensive back #33 Cooper DeJean runs an interception to score a touchdown during Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 9, 2025. (Photo by Chandan Khanna / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Pretty obnoxious start to an article, hey?

About as obnoxious as the conversations that surrounded the draft over the weekend.

On Thursday, before even five teams could submit their picks, former ESPN reporter Josina Anderson noticed something she considered peculiar about the coverage. 

"No African-American women on the NFL Draft coverage?" she asked on X.

Nope, they weren't. And that's okay. 

There is no rule that every broadcast on television must represent every group in America. That would be mathematically impossible to achieve. There were no Asians or Hispanics on the draft coverage either. Where is the fuss over that?

Moreover, ESPN's coverage of the NBA playoffs this weekend featured, as per usual, an all-black cast. What did Anderson have to say about that? From a quick X search, nothing.

Apparently, only black women deserve to be included on every broadcast in sports.

Then came the narrative around Shedeur Sanders, who slipped to the fourth round. According to the usual suspects, racism caused Sanders to fall.

Stephen A. Smith, who claims he "might have to" run for president, accused the NFL owners of colluding against Sanders, like they supposedly did against Colin Kaepernick.

"This is a damn disgrace. How in the hell is [Shedeur] not off the board, not drafted yet?" Smith posted. "Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin (sic) on [Deion Sanders]. This kid is a first rounder."

"In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again…..being kept out," Smith added. "A damn disgrace. I don’t care what anyone says!"

Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman accused the NFL of discriminating against black quarterbacks with big personalities: "America continues to fear strong black men who come from means and have a strong sense of themselves without submitting to the ‘dominant’ culture."

A TNT Sports reporter named Stan Becton claimed the New York Giants passed on Sanders because the team owners have it out for black quarterbacks.

"The Giants don’t like Black QBs this has been documented over time," he posted on X. "No way they were getting a Black QB with the personality of Shedeur Sanders unfortunately."

Note: The Giants signed two black quarterbacks in the offseason and plan to start Russell Wilson.

ESPN radio host Peter Rosenberg also chimed in, claiming, "White America is historically angered by and scared of men like Shedeur Sanders."

Is that so?

They all look like such utter fools.

There is no conspiracy against black quarterbacks in the NFL, or black people with big personalities. Cam Ward, a black quarterback from the University of Miami, was literally drafted first overall on Thursday. 

Last year, the first two quarterbacks drafted were black: Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. In 2023, the first three quarterbacks drafted were black: Bryce Young, C. J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson.

I know, I know. Never let the facts get in the way of a good race-bait.

Here's the truth about Shedeur Sanders:

According to draft insiders like Peter Schrager, teams viewed Sanders as a second-round talent. However, Sanders comes with more baggage than the average day two talent – be it his father, fanfare, media coverage, and a questionable attitude.

Draft guru Todd McShay reported before Thursday that teams found Sanders arrogant and unprepared during the interview process.

That's a lot of baggage for a player hardly viewed as the next sure thing.

Here is what Clay Travis said about the coverage of Sanders this weekend:

"The NFL, a majority black employee league, has created more black millionaires than any business in the history of the world. Arguing the league is racist, as many sports media did this weekend, is the dumbest argument in 21st-century sports history.

"To do so based on the success or failure of any one player in the draft, as many of the sports media members did, is either profoundly dumb or intentionally racially divisive to score points with the dumbest sports fans in America. There are no other options."

Especially when teams passed on all those white studs playing cornerback in the MAC last season.