Todd McShay on Kenny Pickett, small hands, and historical perspective

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks available in the 2022 NFL Draft. One of Pickett’s biggest downfalls in terms of his draft stock is his smaller hand size. ESPN NFL Draft expert weighs in on Pickett’s hands, saying that the Senior Bowl week did him no favors when the weather got bad on Wednesday.

“Overall I thought he had a solid week,” McShay said of Pickett at the Senior Bowl. “It definitely isn’t his best format. He’s got some mobility, but he’s not Malik Willis. He doesn’t have the big time arm. And the small hands really did show up on Wednesday. So if that was a concern for you as a scout or general manager coming into the week, it certainly didn’t help.

“I even go back to the North Carolina game this year. The second half when the rain and the wind started to creep in, look at what happened to Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh offense.”

Regardless of hand size, Pickett had a huge season for Pittsburgh this year. He completed 67.2 percent of his passes, throwing for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding five rushing touchdowns. Pickett was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and also set many Pitt and ACC records while doing so.

McShay puts Pickett’s hand size issue in historical perspective ahead of NFL Draft

Pickett played five seasons for Pitt, throwing for over 12,000 yards in his career with 81 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He also rushed for 801 yards and 20 touchdowns. But his hand size is an issue for some in the NFL.

Pickett actually is double jointed in his thumb, and he chose to not get his hands measured at the Senior Bowl this week. Instead, he will work on thumb exercises to get an accurate hand measurement in April’s NFL Combine ahead of the draft.

“So I know everybody gets worked up,” McShay added. “Is it nine inches from pinky to thumb, the handspan, is it nine inches, is it under nine. There’s really never been a quarterback outside of Michael Vick, and I did the study. I went back to 2006, there hasn’t been a quarterback that’s had any success in the league under nine inches. I’m just giving you the stat, I’m not saying I buy it, I’m not saying it’s going to be pertinent to Pickett’s career.

“I know Joe Burrow had nine inch hands and he’s going to the Super Bowl. I know all of that stuff, I’m just giving you the information. And I’m saying if you were worried coming into the week about that issue with Pickett, it certainly didn’t help that he struggled probably more so than any of the six quarterbacks there when the weather was an issue on Wednesday.”

In addition to Pickett, Sam Howell, Malik Willis, Matt Corral, and Desmond Ridder are options in the first round in the 2022 NFL Draft. Carson Strong and Bailey Zappe were also at the Senior Bowl last week.