It's a tradition unlike any other, and one that quarterbacks near and far likely greet with gritted teeth and rolled eyeballs: the dreaded hand-size measurement.
Each year at the NFL scouting combine, quarterbacks have their mitts stretched to the extreme and get subjected to the tape measure treatment. Of all the long-held scouting maxims, quarterbacks having large hands is as entrenched a belief as any, and every year there's a gunslinger or two that comes under added scrutiny for having smaller-than-ideal hand size. This year's early victim: Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Pickett's hand measured in at 8 1/2 inches, per Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, notably small for the position. Since 1999, the list of quarterbacks with hands smaller than nine inches is, well, small (and unremarkable):
Joe Burrow famously mocked the narrative that his hands were too small after they measured at nine inches during the 2020 combine. He eventually was taken with the No. 1 overall pick, and has turned out just fine two years later.
Pickett downplayed the issue before the combine after declining to have his hand measured at the Senior Bowl. His hand size wasn't an issue during his senior season, when he completed 67.2% of passes for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions, finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting. In college, Pickett wore gloves on both hands.
Pickett was ranked as the No. 22 prospect in SI's pre-combine Big Board—and the top-ranked quarterback—in what's generally viewed as a weaker draft class for the position.
