The NFL Combine officially kicked off this week, beginning with medical testing, team interviews, and of course, in-person measurements. NCAA schools are notorious for exaggerating size (aren’t we all). The combine gives us our first look at true-to-life measurements, including height, weight, wingspan, hand size, and BMI.
Does Size Matter? Should dynasty managers even care about what their favorite prospect officially measure? Absolutely. Size metrics allow us to compare the incoming rookies to historical groupings. We can now minimize our data pools into a refined reflection of potential success and hit rate.
The NFL is a league full of Godzillian all-world athletes. It is no surprise that size plays a significant role in projected players’ future success. Outliers exist, but chasing unicorns can lead to your overall roster value falling off a cliff. Today we are going to highlight some of the more notable measurements from the 2022 quarterback class and what it means for that player’s fantasy trajectory.
Kenny Pickett (Pitt)
Age: 23.7
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 217
BMI: 26.94
Hand Size: 8 ½”
Red Flag: Hand Size
You’d be hard-pressed to find any guy complaining about eight and a half inches, but when it comes to quarterbacks’ hands, size matters. According to PlayerProfiler, Kenny Pickett’s hand size ranks in the first percentile. A damning metric when projecting Pickett’s future success at the NFL level. The only fantasy-relevant quarterback in recent history with hands that small was Virginia Tech-standout Michael Vick, who also measured at 8 ½”. Pickett possesses nowhere near the athletic capabilities as Vick and has already struggled to hold onto the ball at the collegiate level, fumbling 38 times in five years at Pitt. Projected as a top-three quarterback (first by many), Pickett will enter the NFL with the smallest hands of any quarterback in the league. He can either become an extreme outlier or follow the path of perennial busts that have been measured comparably.
Malik Willis (Liberty)
Age: 22.7
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 220
BMI: 29.29
Hand Size: 9 ½”
Red Flag: Height
Malik Willis does not fit the prototypical build of an NFL quarterback. What he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in athleticism. Willis is a scintillating athlete that uses his otherworldly speed and agility to make defenders miss. He rushed for over 850 yards in consecutive seasons to close out his tenure at Liberty University. Willis topped DocFFFN’s Pre-Combine 2022 Rookie Positional Rankings for quarterbacks, citing his dynamic dual-threat profile and cannon arm. Willis has struggled with ball control at points throughout his career, but that can be attributed to questionable decision-making more than his below-average height. I would be more concerned if Willis did not boast his elite athletic profile to back up his size. Nevertheless, his athletic ability to roll out of the pocket and extend plays/reads mitigates many concerns surrounding Willis’ measurables.
Sam Howell (North Carolina)
Age: 21.4
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 220
BMI: 29.76
Hand Size: 9 ⅛”
Red Flag: Height
Unlike Willis, Sam Howell does not possess game-changing speed and athleticism. Howell is an efficient runner that can use his legs to pick up decent chunk gains against unsuspecting defenses. However, the closing speed of NFL linebackers could prove to be a dramatic eye-opener for Howell’s conventional athletic abilities. Several quarterbacks have been labeled “undersized” prior to having successful careers in the NFL. Russell Wilson is just 5’11” and has recorded a top-12 fantasy season in all but one season of his career. Howell’s height, or lack thereof, is not enough to write him off completely, but it does raise some concerns when projecting his future success.
Signoff
If you want to know more about how draft capital can affect the outlook of players in fantasy, check out Draft Capital: Why Should We Care? – Dynasty Football Factory by Chris Miles. Part one of the Does Size Matter? series featuring WRs can be found here.
Much respect, thank you for reading. If you have any continued thoughts and would like to share, I am always available for an open conversation on Twitter: @PsychWardFF or Instagram: @psychwardff.
Join the #DFFArmy to keep in step with exclusive fantasy football content by clicking HERE #AlwaysBeBuilding
Please follow me on LinkTree to stay updated on all of my content: @PsychWardFF.
Pingback: NFL Combine: “Does Size Matter?” Running Back Edition - Dynasty Football Factory