2 min read • March 01, 2022
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Arguably the biggest storyline of the draft this year has been the abnormally small hands of former Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett.
When measured last spring his hands were 8.25 inches, well below the NFL quarterback average of 9.5 inches.
If that measurement is accurate, Pickett is one of just two modern quarterbacks with hands that small. Former Princeton quarterback Kevin Davidson’s hands also measured 8.25 inches. He went undrafted in 2020.
Pickett, a Heisman trophy finalist, opted not to have his hands measured at the Senior Bowl, explaining that he’s double-jointed and wanted to do hand exercises to get a better measurement.
Dr. David Chao, ProFootballDoc, said he has not heard of an exercise that could increase hand size in two months.
Pickett does seem to have an issue with his thumb that does not allow him to open his hand as wide as others, thus hurting him on his measurements, Chao pointed out.
While much has been made of his small hands, they didn’t slow down his throwing ability in college. He finished as Pitt’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions, touchdowns, most 300-yard passing games and most 400-yard passing games.
In his senior season, he finished fourth in the nation in passing touchdowns, sixth in passing yards and fifth in total pass completions.
However, the 23-year-old did struggle with ball security in college, possibly as a result of his small hands. He fumbled 26 times in his four-year college career.
Over past 37 seasons, 650 quarterbacks had hands measured. Of those 650, Pickett would have third-smallest hands at 8.25 inches.
Much was made about Joe Burrow’s 9-inch hands at the 2020 Draft Combine. Burrow had the smallest hands of any quarterback taken in the first round since 2008, but he has not had ball security issues in the pros.
The second-year Cincinnati quarterback was sacked 51 times last season, but fumbled just 5 times.
Pickett, who wears gloves on both hands when he plays, has pointed out that he is used to the frigid conditions of Pittsburgh in October and November.
NFL scouts will certainly examine how the slightly larger NFL ball comes out of Pickett’s hand at the Combine and his Pro Day. It will be up to each NFL team to decide how much importance they place on Pickett’s hand measurement.
Injury history data provided by the 2022 rookie injury guide written by Dr. Ethan Turner, PT, DPT. Twitter @ETurnerFF. If you'd like to learn more about the injury histories of the 2022 class you can pre order your copy here
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