Scouting Combine gets handsy with NFL draft hopefuls Burrow, Love and Fromm

The combine started Monday with quarterback and wide receiver measurements. Interviews take place throughout the week, while on-field workouts begin Thursday, Feb. 27, for wide receivers, quarterbacks and tight ends. Click here for the on-field schedule.

If there was a “measurement winner,” then the nod would go to Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, a “tier 2” prospect who’s still projected to go in the first or early second round. Monday’s measurements certainly didn’t hurt his cause, as the redshirt junior checked in at almost 6-foot-4, 224 pounds.

However, it was Love’s hand-size of 10 4/8 inches that caught everyone’s attention. To put it in perspective, Love’s hands are bigger than most of the defensive or offensive linemen who were in the 2019 draft. Love’s hand size and 80-inch wingspan were both tops among quarterbacks.

Joe Burrow's hand size measures at 9 inches at NFL combine, shortest among 1st-round QBs since 2008. This invalidates everything he has ever done on the field. https://t.co/vsmR5LL6Bt

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 24, 2020

On the other end of the spectrum, the “small” hand size issue reared its head again, as the hand size of presumed No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow of LSU came in at 9 inch hands. He also measured at 6-3 4/8 and 221 pounds with a 74 inch wingspan.

“Burrow with just 9-inch hands isn’t good for his draft stock. It shouldn’t really move the needle though,” said CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso in his Combine review. “The threshold is typically right at 9 inches, so technically, Burrow got to it.”

Georgia QB Jake Fromm, however, fell behind that “threshold.” Fromm (6-1 7/8, 219) had the smallest hands among all quarterbacks at 8 7/8 inches.

“Being close to 6-2 and 220 pounds is good,” Trapasso wrote. “Hands under 9 inches simply is not, particularly for a passer not known for his physical prowess.”