2020 NFL draft: Could Bengals be scared off by Joe Burrow's small hand size?

Former LSU Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow is still the heavy favorite on the NFL odds at DraftKings to be the first overall pick in April's NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals or whomever might trade into that spot. However, Burrow's hands were measured on Monday at the NFL Combine and they were shockingly small – yes, that matters to many scouts because the NFL football is bigger than the college football version. The thinking is that the bigger hands a guy has, the less likely he is to fumble the ball when hit, etc.  

Burrow's hands were measured at 9 inches from pinkie to thumb. That length is tied for the smallest among eventual first-round quarterbacks measured at the combine since 2008. Ryan Tannehill and Jared Goff were the others with that hand size. Oddly they both have this in common: They were coached at one time by current Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. He was Goff's quarterbacks coach with the Rams in 2018 and was also a QBs coach with Tannehill's former team, the Miami Dolphins, from 2013-15.

For what it's worth, Kyler Murray's hands measured 9.5 inches last year and he of course went No. 1 overall to Arizona and had a fine rookie year. Patrick Mahomes has turned out pretty well and his hand size is just 9¼ inches. Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, had hands measured at 9.25 inches.

Burrow also measured at 6-3 1/2 and 221 pounds with an arm length of 30 inches and a wingspan of 74 inches. He's not expected to throw at the Combine but wait for his Pro Day at LSU no April 3. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, meanwhile, measured in at 6-foot, 217 pounds, with 9 7/8-inch hands.