2022 NFL Draft: 5 Storylines From the NFL Combine
By Evan Bruner
1. Kenny Pickett’s hand size
Just because something is expected doesn’t mean it’s any less of a story. Everyone knew Kenny Pickett had small hands, but that didn’t stop Pickett and his 8 1/2 inch hands from being the talk of the week. The bigger a quarterback’s hands are, the better they should be able to grip the ball, thus helping them put more zip on their passes and hold onto the ball when they are hit by defenders. The ideal height hand size for starting quarterbacks is over nine inches.
Hand size isn’t the end all be all, but it puts Pickett behind the 8-ball, to say the least. No starting quarterback last year had hands smaller than nine inches, and the only quarterback in the combine era to measure with hands smaller than nine inches and have a successful career is Michael Vick.
This is a measurement that some teams put more stock into than others. Pickett’s hand size may have dropped Pickett on some 2022 NFL Draft boards while doing little to his status on others. Pickett certainly has some NFL-level skills, but the hand size concerns, on top of the fact he will be 24 by the time training camp starts, haven’t done Pickett any favors.