Indianapolis - This is the most digested, critical, and eyebrow-raising number of NFL quarterback prospects tied to it each year. And at the annual gathering of the nation's best players on Tuesday, former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett became the latest high-profile passer-by whose hand size became part of his pre-draft windup.
Pickett's right hand measured 8½ inches, which would be the shortest of any quarterback currently in the NFL.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tessum Hill, whose hands were measured at 8¾ inches until the 2017 draft, has the shortest hands of signal-callers, followed by Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback Brandon Allen, whose hands were measured at 8½ inches in 2016. Senior Bowl. Allen, who told ESPN's David Fleming in February 2020 that he did arm exercises and a stretching/massage regimen after the Senior Bowl, later measured his hand at 8⅞ inches in the 2016 combination.
Piquet, who was a finalist of the Heisman Trophy and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award in 2021, is seen as a possible first round entry into the combination. He is the No. 1 quarterback and No. 19 prospect overall on Mel Kipper Jr.'s Big Board and the No. 2 quarterback (behind Liberty's Malik Willis) and No. 19 prospect in Todd McShea's Scouts Inc. rankings.
Piquet attended the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama last month, but chose not to take official measurements for his hands. He then said that he would try to improve his hand mobility through the forward parts of the combine.
"The reason I didn't measure up in the Senior Bowl was just those extra few weeks, it was just kind of normal, to give more time to practice," Pickett said Wednesday in Indianapolis. "It measures whatever it takes, I'm sure it won't be the end of it, but it will be the last measurement I'm sure I'll take."
He ended his college career with the most 300-yard passing games (16) and the most 400-yard passing games (five) in school history. Pitt went 32-17 in the games he started. Pitt won the ACC Championship Game at Wake Forest on December 4, 45–21, and Pitt finished with two touchdowns with a 20-in-33 passing for 253 yards and a 58-yard touchdown run.
"The tape is your resume; the rest of this stuff is part of the boxes you have to check," Pickett said. "There hasn't been much talk about [the size of his hand] in the formal interviews I've had."
Bengals star Joe Burrows, who advanced to his first Super Bowl last month, spent a lot of time leading up to the 2020 draft, answering questions about his 9-inch hand measurement. He joked on Twitter that he was "considering retirement when I was informed that football would slip out of my little hands." He went to No. 1 in the draft.
In reviewing records from the Alliance since relocating to Indianapolis in 1987, Jeff Blake, Michael Vick, and Cliff Kingsbury measured their hands at 8½ inches at the Alliance. On the other side of the debate, the current quarterback's largest hands are Russell Wilson (10⅛ inches) of the Seattle Seahawks, followed by Aaron Rodgers (10⅛) of the Green Bay Packers and Josh Allen (10⅛) of the Buffalo Bills.
According to ESPN Stats & Information data, the average hand size for 39 quarterbacks taken in the first round from 2008 to 2020 is 97/10 inches. The signal-collar with the largest hands in that group was Mark Sanchez in 2009 (10½), while the smallest in that group is 9 inches for Burrow, Ryan Tanhill and Jared Goff. Hill did not participate in the combine in 2017.