‘Small hands’ narrative begins for notable QBs at NFL Combine

The NFL Combine has long been an event for NFL teams to help evaluate up-and-coming prospects ahead of the NFL Draft each year. And whether it is fair or not, narratives often follow quarterback prospects in particular based on some of their measurables that are taken at the combine.

A big talking point each year at the combine is the hand size of quarterback prospects. It’s not foolproof, but quarterbacks with bigger hands have been thought to have a significant advantage in terms of ball security at the NFL level compared to prospects with smaller hands.

Quarterback measurements were taken on Saturday, which created some interesting narratives around the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy measured in at 9-inch hands, the smallest of any quarterback currently projected to be an early-round pick at the position. North Carolina’s Drake Maye also measured in on the smaller side of things with 9 1/8-inch hands.

Meanwhile, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. measured in with the largest hands of the top quarterbacks with 10.5-inch hands. Oregon’s Bo Nix also measured favorably with 10 1/8-inch hands.

Projected No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams was smack dab in the middle with 9.75-inch hands.

Again, there are plenty of examples where quarterback prospects with smaller hands end up having great NFL careers. Just look at Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, who measured in at 9-inch and 9.25-inch hands respectively.

Regardless, the small hands narrative is very real amongst NFL fans. And McCarthy and Maye in particular have received criticism from NFL fans on social media following this discovery.

Will this narrative actually affect the draft stock of either Maye or McCarthy? Who knows. But at the very least, this will almost certainly be a talking point throughout much of the pre-draft process.

[Charles Robinson on Twitter/X]