When Joe Burrow finally enters the NFL Scouting Combine stage in 2020, the world will not just stare at his throwing mechanics and timing over 40 yards. The specific measurement that would launch fierce arguments within scouting circles: nine inches of hand span, as duly noted officially during the pre-draft evaluation. This somewhat oblique physical attribute was eventually hyped up in overall draft analysis. Some even debating its significance for Burrow being able to handle NFL footballs in bad weather. As indeed most of the rest of Burrow’s career trajectory has believably attested, hand size is merely a portion of the tale of quarterback fortunes.
介绍
Hand size has long been an important physical metric for quarterback prospects in NFL scouting circles. The measurement goes from tip-of-thumb to tip-of-pinkie finger with the hand fully extended.
手掌大小的意义
大多数球队都希望他们的信号球手至少有 9 英寸的手掌；精英四分卫的手掌跨度通常在 9.5 到 10.5 英寸之间。这是从实际比赛中的考虑直接强调手的尺寸。
Larger hands theoretically provide better ball security in adverse conditions—rain or cold—when grip on the ball must be maintained; it is easier for the quarterback to hold onto a slightly larger NFL football (as compared with college dimensions) as well as when throwing all the different passes that have to be made in a game.
伯罗的测量结果在美国橄榄球联盟四分卫中排在历史第 8 位，是自 2008 年以来并列手掌尺寸最小的首轮四分卫。此后，他又投出了 5600 多码的成绩，让球探们更加怀疑。
在联合试训中，对所有候选球员的手部尺寸进行严格的标准化测量，以便对不同选秀级别和位置的球员进行比较。球员站立时，主导手完全伸直，手指尽量张开；然后医务人员用卡尺测量从拇指尖到小指尖的距离。
有些四分卫在综合训练和职业日训练之间的手部测量值相差一英寸。伯罗的官方测量数据与所有来源的数据一样，都是 9 英寸。
比较测量
从历史的角度来看，伯罗的手掌尺寸在成功的 NFL 四分卫中属于较小的一端。传奇球星丹-马里诺（9.7/8 英寸）、布雷特-法夫尔（10.3/8 英寸）和佩顿-曼宁（9.7/8 英寸）以明显更大的手掌树立了标准。
Contemporary benchmarks follow suit. Patrick Mahomes checks in at 9 1/4 inches, Josh Allen at 10 1/8 inches, and Justin Herbert at a flat ten inches even. Drew Brees, often considered the outlier success story with smaller hands, still came in large-10 1/4 inches-larger than Burrow’s span.
The smallest successful modern quarterback hands belong to Michael Vick (8 1/2 inches) and Russell Wilson (10 1/4 inches). Burrow’s measurement sits between these extremes, closer to Vick’s than Wilson’s.
关注点和表现
最初对乔-伯罗手掌大小的担忧主要来自两个方面：第一，恶劣天气下的控球安全；第二，他是否有能力完成 NFL 水平所要求的所有投球动作。
More particularly, several analysts expressed concern that his smaller hands would translate into more fumbles and/or less accurate passing in cold, rainy, or snowy games. The Cincinnati Bengals would select Burrow first overall in spite of his hand measurement heralds a new wave for how teams increasingly value intangibles—processing speed, accuracy, leadership—over pure physical metric.
据统计，伯罗的表现超过了许多手掌尺寸较大的四分卫。他在第二个赛季就带领孟加拉虎队打进了第 16 届超级碗，同时在常规赛中完成了 70.4% 的传球。他在狭小空间内准确投球的能力与手掌大小完全无关。
克服疑虑
高级指标显示，伯罗在中距离和纵深传球方面表现出色，而这两个区域本应是手型最重要的区域。2022 年，他在 20 码以上远距离投球的调整后完成率在联盟中名列前茅。
在寒冷天气的比赛中，伯罗的表现相当抢眼。迄今为止，在低于 40 分的比赛中，他的传球成功率为 98.4，高于其职业生涯 97.9 的平均水平。
While proper technique matters more for ball security than does hand size, according to NFL quarterback coaches, smaller hands may be made up for by grip strength and throwing mechanics, noted quarterback trainer Tom House. Burrow’s ability to properly grip the football makes hand size largely irrelevant.
孟加拉虎队进攻协调员布莱恩-卡拉汉（Brian Callahan）曾公开表示，他们在评估时从未考虑过伯罗的手掌大小。录像显示，四分卫无论在什么情况下，都能精准地投出每一球。这对我们来说才是最重要的。
吉尔-勃兰特（Gil Brandt）主要负责开发联合测量系统，他指出："我们曾经有一个关于手掌大小的数据点（相关），但在今天的 NFL 中，这个数据点并不具有预测性。比赛已经发生了变化。是的，让我们使用准确性和决策制定，因为这些才是最重要的"。
评估和指标
伯罗的道路证明，精湛的技艺和足球智商可以超越任何身体上的限制，这对手掌较小的年轻四分卫来说是一种激励。
未来展望
只要联盟继续迷恋高精度传球进攻中的漂亮投球，手掌大小就会继续从前锋办公室所期望的最重要素质中进一步滑落，因为他们更看重的是处理速度和准确性，而这些在卷尺上是看不到的。
伯罗的成功表明，虽然在评估时仍应考虑手的大小，但不应以此为借口来阻止四分卫在其他方面具备所有必要的天赋。因此，在未来的选秀中，可能会有更少的人仅仅因为手小而被打折扣。
话题继续转向整体评估。伯罗的职业生涯可能会成为一个非常有力的证明；在这个位置上打球的伟大之处在于许多身体方面的因素--无形的因素往往胜过可测量的因素。
Additional resources and coverage of Burrow’s hand size journey can be found at MockDraftable, Reddit, Bengals Wire, and CBS. Another notable combine measurement can be reviewed for comparison with Kenny Pickett. For more photographic context, see Burrow’s post on Instagram.
