Mason Rudolph, Marcell Ateman have smaller … hands
The Senior Bowl is a chance for future NFL hopefuls to get some measurements taken ahead of the NFL Draft. Well one thing that’s often looked at for quarterbacks and wide receivers is hand size. Especially for quarterbacks, hand size can determine one’s ability to grip the ball in tough weather conditions, hold onto the ball when a 6’4”, 240-pound linebacker is chasing you down or about to sack you and much more.
So the numbers came out and Mason Rudolph hands are … tiny, OK, “smaller”, by NFL quarterback standards. This is actually good news for Rudolph, as there were rumors his hands were even smaller. 9 1/8″ is the same as Derek Carr and is considered the “minimum” of sorts for NFL quarterbacks.
Hand sizes of Senior Bowl QBs:
Josh Allen: 10 1/8
Luke Falk: 9 3/8
Tanner Lee: 10 1/8
Kurt Benkert: 9 5/8
Kyle Lauletta: 9 5/8
Mason Rudolph: 9 1/8* won’t play
Brandon Silvers 9 1/8
Mike White: 9 3/8
Baker Mayfield has not yet arrived— Rob Rang (@RobRang) January 23, 2018
To give you more perspective, here are the hands sizes of some of the top NFL quarterbacks.
Dak Prescott: 10 9/10″
Russell Wilson: 10 1/4″
Drew Brees: 10 1/4″
Carson Wentz: 10″
Cam Newton: 9 7/8″
Joe Flacco: 9 5/8″
Aaron Rodgers: 9 4/10″
Granted, we all know, there is MUCH more that goes into being an NFL quarterback than hand size. Rudolph is right on par with Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr, who also has 9 1/8″ hands.
But naturally, this will lead to some speculation on the Small Hands Theory, which is already out in full force.
Mason Rudolph had a lot of strange fumbles that led to a Small Hands Theory…and it comes to fruition. https://t.co/ocruvsPEnF
— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) January 23, 2018
And now according to this tidbit from ESPN, “At the time that ESPN researched since 2008, there had been 39 quarterbacks measured with a hand size of 9 1/4″ or smaller; less than one-fifth of them had gone on to start even half a season in the NFL.”
Now Rudolph’s small hands buried other news for the Pokes, that wide receiver Marcell Ateman’s hands are even smaller!
#SeniorBowl measurements for #okstate guys
Rudolph: 6’4″, 229 lbs, 9 1/8″ inches (hand)
Washington: 5’10 7/8″, 210 lbs, 33 7/8″ (arm), 9 5/8″ (hand)
Atemen: 6’4″, 216 lbs, 33 5/8″ (arm), 9″ (hand)— Seth Krug (@Seth_Krug) January 23, 2018
Small hands are not as frowned upon in wide receivers as quarterbacks, since many are traditionally smaller people anyway.
Some wide receivers with big hands include former TCU WR Josh Doctson, who has 9 7/8” paws, Odell Beckham Jr. has baseball mitt hands at 10″, Julio Jones’ are 9 3/4″. You get the point.
Needless to say, Mike Gundy’s staff needs to work on hand stretches (yes, players do apparently do this), to try and give themselves every extra edge possible as the prepare for the NFL Combine and Draft.
