Teams declined to draft Steelers QB Kenny Pickett because of concerns over his small hands?

One of the bigger stories during the 2022 NFL Draft involved Kenny Pickett and how his hand size could affect his play at the next level. Pickett was drafted 20th overall and would eventually make his way into the starting role after the Steelers decided to bench Mitchell Trubisky. The more he played, the more he would improve throughout the season and left a promising mark on the city of Pittsburgh and convinced everyone that he is the future of the organization.

Pickett Falls Right Into Steelers' Laps

One crazy thing with his small hands is the fact that some teams actually passed up on Pickett in the draft due to his hand size, which led him to fall right into the Steelers' lap. Recently, Pickett joined Ben Roethlisberger's "Footbahlin" podcast and discussed how big of an issue this was going through the draft process.

"There were teams that [said] 'if you're not at nine inches for your hands hands], you're just off the board' and those teams were high (in the draft)." 

Looking back at it, three of the top four teams in the draft could have potentially had an interest in Pickett and passed on selecting him due to his hand size. The Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and New York Jets could have all been possibilities as they didn't have a firm starting talent at the time.

With teams letting Pickett know that they would not select him because he had smaller hands, he noted that one of the things that he would do is wear a splint and stretch out his hands to make them as big as possible. It ended up working, as his hands would grow just a little bit. This was Pickett doing whatever he could to go as high as possible.

"If a team comes to you and they are high in the draft, you want to go as high as possible. Alright, it is what it is I have to try and do what I can to get there. I'll do whatever it takes. I think I throw it alright, but you have to get to that number that some teams have a set thing."

All of this extra measurement stuff begs the question; does it matter? The short answer is that it doesn't matter as long as you can go out and put on a performance; then, who cares what your measurements are?

Look at the 2023 first overall pick in the entire NFL Draft, Bryce Young. He is 5-foot-10, which is severely undersized for the quarterback position, but he is a winner and balls out on the football field. The same can be said with Pickett as well, as long as he can play the part, who cares?

Pickett has the mentality to be great with what we saw down the stretch with him. Talent wise, he has proven that he can be a star in the league. 

With Pickett going into his second season, all eyes are going to be on him in 2023. It will be be a great year for him to prove everyone wrong that hand size doesn't matter.