Alright, so the other day I found myself going down one of those internet rabbit holes. You know how it is. I was thinking about quarterbacks, specifically the Packers’ guy, Jordan Love. Been hearing his name a lot, especially with the new season getting closer.
And then, a thought just popped into my head – how big are this dude’s hands? It’s one of those weird metrics they always bring up around the NFL Combine, right? Sometimes it seems like a huge deal, other times, not so much. So, I figured, let’s do a little digging. My own little scouting report, if you will, just on this one tiny aspect.
My Process: The Great Hand Size Hunt
First thing I did, obviously, was fire up the old search engine. Typed in “Jordan Love hand size.” Simple enough, or so I thought. You get a bunch of results, some from draft profiles, some from sports news sites. It’s always a bit of a chore sifting through to find the actual, official measurement, not just some random forum post.
I remember when I was really into fantasy football, obsessively looking up these kinds of stats. Forty times, bench press reps for linemen, and yes, quarterback hand size. My buddy, Dave, he swore by hand size. Said if a QB didn’t have big enough mitts, especially for cold weather games, he wouldn’t draft him. I always thought he was a bit nuts with that, but hey, everyone’s got their system.
Anyway, back to Love. I clicked on a few links. Most of them pointed back to his NFL Combine results. That’s usually the most reliable place for these things. They measure everything there, down to the quarter inch.
Found It!
And there it was. The number. Seems his hands were measured at 10 1/2 inches. Okay, so I had the data. Now what? Is that good? Bad? Average?
So, my next step was to try and get some context. I started looking up what’s considered a “good” hand size for an NFL quarterback. Generally, anything over 9 inches is passable, 9 1/2 is better, and 10 inches or more is usually seen as a plus. Especially for guys playing in places like Green Bay where the ball can get slick and cold.
- I recalled all the noise around Kenny Pickett’s hand size a couple of years back. People were freaking out because his were a bit on the smaller side.
- Then you got guys like Joe Burrow, whose hands weren’t massive either, and he seems to be doing just fine.
- On the other end, you’d hear about guys with massive paws, and how that supposedly helped with ball security and grip.
So, 10 1/2 inches for Love? That’s actually pretty darn good. Definitely on the larger side. No concerns there, according to the “experts” and my buddy Dave’s old theories, anyway.
What I Really Think About It
Honestly, after going through all that, I kind of chuckled. It’s one stat. One piece of a massive puzzle that makes up a quarterback. Does it matter? Maybe a little. A bigger hand probably doesn’t hurt, especially in bad weather. But is it the be-all and end-all? Nah, not by a long shot.
I’ve seen guys with smaller hands make incredible throws, and guys with huge hands fumble the ball away. It’s like so many things in sports, and even in life. We get so fixated on these little numbers, these quantifiable things, because they’re easy to compare. But the real stuff – the poise, the decision-making, the leadership, the ability to read a defense – you can’t measure that with a ruler at the Combine.
It was a fun little exercise, though. Reminded me of my more obsessive stat-checking days. And hey, now I know Jordan Love has pretty big hands. Will it make him a Hall of Famer? Who knows. But it’s another little piece of info to have in the back of my mind when I’m watching the games this fall. Just don’t expect me to tell you it’s the most important thing about him. There’s way more to it than that.
