Joe Burrow’s hand measurement at the NFL combine commanded the headlines Monday.
So much so, Burrow himself had a joke about it.
Fitting, as the whole ordeal is overblown. It’s a little odd to hear at first that Burrow tied for the smallest hand measurement of any first-round passer since 2008 at nine inches.
But it’s not really a big deal. Passers under the nine-inch threshold don’t tend to often get consistent chances at the pro level (Michael Vick is an obvious exception). Concerns about ball security and ability to put power into passes in bad weather persist.
With Burrow? It’s not a big concern. It doesn’t invalidate what he did on the field and that film shows a player who relies on smart touch and anticipation, not wicked arm strength. It also shows a player who often keeps two hands on the ball while smartly working his way through messy pockets. Fumbles were never an issue.
While the average hand size drafted since 2008 is 9 7/10 inches and it’s easy to point out passers with smaller hands have failed, exceptions exist. Patrick Mahomes measured at 9 1/4 inches.
Other notables that turned out just fine:
Jared Goff has fumbling issues, yes, but his stem from a lack of pocket awareness — a problem Burrow doesn’t share.
Again, this is a failure that sensationalizes one metric as opposed to anything else:
This is a byproduct of a 24/7 draft season. Like the NFL combine itself introducing more modernized drills, it’d be nice to see something as limited as hand size get some modernization too.
Considering Burrow had zero issues relating to hand size in the past, this one registers as a non-story.
