Another talking point regarding potential No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow surfaced when his measurements were taken on Monday morning at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Burrow's hand size was measured at 9 inches, a source confirmed to ESPN. The information was first reported by Yahoo Sports.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, the length from pinkie to thumb was tied for the smallest among first-round quarterbacks measured at the combine since 2008. Ryan Tannehill and Jared Goff, the others with that hand size, were both instructed by current Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
Burrow jokingly came to grips with the news via Twitter:
Considering retirement after I was informed the football will be slipping out of my tiny hands. Please keep me in your thoughts.
— Joey Burrow (@Joe_Burrow10) February 24, 2020
Reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, whose hand size registered at 9 1/4 inches when he attended the combine in 2017, offered Burrow words of encouragement.
"My small hands are doing alright so far....i believe in ya," Mahomes tweeted, with three crying laughing emojis.
Taylor and the Bengals could potentially draft Burrow with the franchise's first top overall pick since 2003. Taylor, a former quarterback at Nebraska, had a 9-inch hand measurement at the 2007 combine.
Of the 35 quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2008, the average hand size has been 9 7/10 inches, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Over the past 10 years, a mere three quarterbacks with 9-inch hands have attempted more than 300 passes -- Goff, Tannehill and Chad Henne. During that span, none of them has a Total QBR above 55.
Burrow enters this week's scouting combine as the overwhelming favorite to be the top overall pick. The former LSU quarterback won the Heisman Trophy and led the Tigers to a national championship in his final year of college.
Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon's Justin Herbert were measured with 10-inch hands. Along with Burrow, they are expected to be among the top quarterback prospects available in the upcoming draft.