How Many White Cornerbacks are in the NFL?

The cornerback position is arguably the toughest position to play in the National Football League. The fact that you have to mirror somebody throughout the whole field makes it all the harder. The primary job of a cornerback entails covering the wide receivers for the opposing team’s offense, although they also defend against offensive running plays, as sweeps and reserve. They often head into every play at a disadvantage, because wide receivers know exactly where they are going and have practiced to perfection to make sure the rhythm is perfect. Cornerbacks are left to carefully watch the footwork of the receiver while backpedaling as the play takes shape. As result, a cornerback has to be a prime athlete in order to be effective on the field of play.

Cornerbacks are fast and extremely agile. They are required to be able to turn on a dime and follow the wide receiver out of his break as the football is thrown. They often start out facing the wideout and as a result, their first step is always backwards. This movement is known as backpedaling and after the first few steps, the cornerback must get out of it and into a full sprint. So, for one to become a great cornerback, athleticism and speed are paramount in order to have the ability to make sharp turns and track back with some of the game’s best and fastest players. 

Great cornerbacks make life easier for the defensive linemen, as quarterbacks hesitate to throw the football to the wide receiver. This enables pass rushers to get the sack or put heavy pressure on the quarterback, resulting in a fumble. Teams that are able to trust their cornerback, to go and cover the opposition’s top wide receiver, can scheme an entire defense around the fact that they have shut down that man.

Are there Any White Cornerbacks in the NFL?

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White Cornerbacks in the NFL are as rare as they come. The rarity of white cornerbacks is further compounded by the fact that all of the NFL’s 64 starting cornerbacks from a season ago are of a black descent as are their backups. The obvious reason as to why we don’t see white guys playing cornerback, comes from stereotypes about the genetic makeup of the white guys. Some are factual while others are a bit far-fetched. The belief that the majority of white guys are not fast enough, agile enough and cannot jump as high enough, when compared to black guys, builds up the case. Stereotypes such as black players are beastly and less polite make it even harder for white guys to get a crack at the cornerback position. 

Science offers a set of answers on the differences between black people and the white people, when it comes to athletics. One such answer is that black people have longer limbs and shorter torsos. These features are advantageous because they render black athletes faster and make them perform better. Additionally, black people tend to have shorter calf muscles and longer Achilles tendons, enabling them to jump higher and run faster.  A cornerback, at any level, requires running fast and jumping high. They are basically the best on-field athletes. 

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To find the last time that men of no color started at cornerback in the NFL, one has to trace back to 2002. Jason Sehorn was the last full time white cornerback who played eight seasons with the New York Giants before finishing his career with the St. Louis Rams, playing safety. The other man is, Kevin Kaesviharn, who started just five games at cornerback position for the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2002/2003 season. He was also moved to safety the following season. Of course, there has been short term experiments with Caucasians at the corner since then, but most of this have been stop gap solutions that are short term. Brian Davis is still the last white cornerback to start for a Super Bowl winning team, the Washington Redskins, when they whitewashed the Denver Broncos 42-10 at Super Bowl XXII in 1987.