The Kenny Pickett hand size story dominated the media ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, with football fans, experts and former players debating how much the quarterback's small hands would impact when he got picked. Pickett ended up being drafted 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers and started the majority of the games for the team last season.
The Steelers clearly didn't mind drafting a quarterback with small hands, but some teams dismissed the Pitt player for that very reason.
While on Ben Roethlisberger's "Footbahlin" podcast, Pickett said multiple teams told him he was off their draft board because his hands did not hit nine inches. Pickett's hands come in at 8.5 inches.
"There's teams that were like, 'If you're not at nine [inches], you just get off the board,'" Pickett said, (via Steelers Depot). "And those teams were high. I'm obviously going to do everything I can [to get drafted as high as possible]."
Some teams have specific numbers they want to hit when it comes to hand size, height and weight. For a quarterback, hand size is a big topic of conversation and can impact play greatly, causing many clubs to eliminate players altogether for coming in a little small.
Pickett, who enters Year 2 as the Steelers' clear starter, played in 13 games in 2022, starting 12. In his rookie season, he went 7-5 with 245 completions for 2,404 yards with a 63.0 completion percentage. He finished the year with seven touchdowns, nine interceptions, 237 rushing yards on 55 attempts and three rushing touchdowns.
