Pickett's hand measures 8.5 inches at NFL combine

Kenny Pickett's hand measurement was a prominent question surrounding the potential first-round pick entering the NFL scouting combine, and it wasn't good news for the quarterback Thursday.

The signal-caller's hands measured 8.5 inches, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Nine inches is widely considered the threshold for a quarterback's hand size. No current NFL quarterback has hands below the 9-inch benchmark.

Joe Burrow, Ryan Tannehill, and Jared Goff are the only passers with 9-inch hands to be drafted in the first round since 2003, according to MLive's Kyle Meinke.

Pickett - who opted against having his hand measured at the Senior Bowl to spend extra time doing stretching exercises - downplayed the issue during Wednesday's press session.

"Whatever it measures, it measures," Pickett said, per NFL.com's Nick Shook. "I'm sure that won't be the end of it, but that'll be the last measurement I'm sure I'll take of it."

Pickett is in a battle with Ole Miss' Matt Corral, Liberty's Malik Willis, and North Carolina's Sam Howell to be the first quarterback selected in April's draft.

The Carolina Panthers took Pickett No. 6 overall in theScore's post-Super Bowl mock draft, and he was the first QB off the board.

The former Pittsburgh standout had a breakout season as a senior in 2021, completing 67.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

However, he continued to struggle to hold onto the football. He had six fumbles in 2021 to take his five-year total to 38, per PFF.