Patrick Mahomes' pre-draft message to Joe Burrow ringing true amid rivalry

04 March 2023 , 23:06

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Joe Burrow was criticised during the draft process for having small hands

The NFL draft scouting combine is well underway this weekend with quarterbacks set to go through testing on Saturday afternoon, as they hope to impress scouts to be drafted as highly as possible - banking them more guaranteed money.

During the NFL draft process, teams are allowed to speak to a number of players, with peculiar questions regularly being asked to the young man, as the tales are told. Teams have their reasons for asking such questions, and wanting to know the exact measurables of each player, with many teams having a cut off point that they would not select any individual below who has a measurable below than what they are comfortable.

For quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, and all those who will go through testing today, height and weight are the two main attributes that teams will be looking for.

However, one measurable that teams and analysts alike are routinely critical of, is the size of a quarterback's hands. Obviously due to needing to be able to control the ball and throw with needle-like precision, coaches pay close attention to the results.

Throughout both Mahomes' and Burrow's draft period, questions arose on whether they might fall in the draft and were being overrated as prospects because their hand size had not been that of a prototypical quarterback.

Joe Burrow backs Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City Chiefs reach Super Bowl

In 2020, three years after Mahomes had been drafted and had already proved scouts wrong, winning a Super Bowl and an MVP award, Burrow had been going through the same thing that he had, with some claiming that quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa should be taken over him because of his hand size.

Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes now look like they might be rivals for the next 15 years

At the time, Burrow tweeted: "Considering retirement after I was informed the football will be slipping out of my tiny hands. Please keep me in your thoughts." Mahomes responded, by saying: "My small hands are doing alright so far... I believe in ya!".

Like Mahomes, Burrow went on to prove those doubts wrong, taking the Bengals to back-to-back AFC championship teams and being dominant in his last two seasons.

The two are now seen as rivals, and could be in competition for the AFC title for years to come, with some comparing them to being the new Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. This year, a number of quarterbacks are projected to be picked early, in a strong quarterback class with four in particular likely to be picked in the top 10 picks.

The man projected to go number one overall, Bryce Young, will be measured on Saturday afternoon as he is expected to be one of the smaller quarterbacks in NFL history.

Charlie Wilson