Joe Burrow has proven that Kenny Pickett's hand size shouldn't be a concern

Kenny Pickett is one of the top quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL draft class. That is why the current narrative surrounding him at the NFL scouting combine is so odd to see.

All anyone can seem to talk about is the size of his hands. This is an annual topic and Pickett is in the news because his measured in at 8.5 inches. That would give him the smallest hands of any NFL quarterback.

Compared to other quarterbacks, his hands are small. Yet he still put amazing work on his game tape and just threw for 42 touchdowns as a season at Pittsburgh. So should everyone ignore his play now that his hand size is known? It's not like they shrunk since college.

NFL teams measure everything possible at the combine and the hand size debate is nothing new. In fact, it surrounded a current star in Joe Burrow just a few years ago. His current trajectory should mean all the talk about Pickett's hands should not end up being a real concern.

Joe Burrow dealt with the same hand size noise as Kenny Pickett

Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams v Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow was part of the 2020 draft class after having a legendary final season at LSU. He led the team to a national championship and was a clear No. 1 overall pick. Yet his hands were measured at 9 inches and he tweeted out a joke about how he had to deal with that as a glaring topic. Burrow joked he had to suddenly consider retirement because of his "tiny hands."

The key concern with players who have smaller hands is ball security. Yet Burrow just led the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl and was one good block away from throwing a game-winning touchdown pass. So even if fumbling is a greater concern, there is evidence that hand size should not be something teams treat as such a black and white issue.

ESPN ran an article detailing that the average hand size of quarterbacks is 9.7 inches. Ryan Tannehill and Jared Goff join Burrow with 9-inch hands, while Taysom Hill's are currently the smallest in the NFL at 8.75 inches.

Yet Pickett threw for over 4,200 yards and looked elite last season. Analyzing his hands now almost seems to be a way for teams to talk themselves out of drafting him. All the evidence they need of his play is already on tape.

The conversation may be different if he had struggled with accuracy while in college. But he was a top quarterback and the fact we all saw this same conversation take place with Burrow, only for him to go No. 1 overall and reach the Super Bowl should make the discussion obsolete during the NFL Draft.