These Quarterbacks Might Not Be on Packers’ NFL Draft Board

The Packers could be in the market for a developmental quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Using history as a guide, here’s who might be out and the best fits.

Former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz finished his career at Florida. | Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers don’t need to draft a quarterback. Not in 2025, anyway. But with Malik Willis potentially leaving in free agency next offseason, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Packers to get a jump on grooming Jordan Love’s next backup.

Like at most positions, the Packers have a “type” based on measurables. Based on their draft history dating to Ted Thompson’s first draft in 2005 and Brian Gutekunst’s first draft in 2018, these players might not be on their draft board.

Hand Size

First and foremost, the ability to play the game matters more than anything. That means arm talent and pocket presence. Beyond that, hand size might be the most important trait. After all, it gets cold in Green Bay. The bigger hands, the better the ability to control the ball in the cold.

These are the quarterbacks drafted by the Packers since 2005:

- Aaron Rodgers (2005), 10 1/8 inches

- Ingle Martin (2006), 9 1/2 inches

- Brian Brohm (2008), 9 3/4 inches

- Matt Flynn (2008), 9 1/4 inches

- B.J. Coleman (2012), 10 3/8 inches

- Brett Hundley (2015), 10 1/2 inches

- Jordan Love (2020), 10 1/2 inches

- Sean Clifford (2022), 9 5/8 inches

- Michael Pratt (2024), 9 1/4 inches

A few recent backups who were not drafted by the Packers: Malik Willis (9 1/2), DeShone Kizer (9 7/8) and Tim Boyle (9 5/8). 

Pratt and Flynn, a pair of seventh-round picks with varying degrees of success in Green Bay, were the only quarterbacks with hands smaller than 9 1/2 inches.

The historic Scouting Combine average for a quarterback is just a bit smaller than 9 5/8 inches. The Packers have drafted four quarterbacks with hands larger than 10 inches, including Love. Only one draftable quarterback hit 10 inches this year: Houston’s Donovan Smith, who was viewed as an early-round prospect at the start of the season but lost the starting job.

It’d be fascinating to know, if the Packers had the No. 1 pick, whether Miami’s Cam Ward (9 inches) or Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders (9 3/8) would be on their draft board.

Of course, the Packers aren’t picking No. 1 and they probably won’t be looking for a quarterback until Day 3. Leaving 9 1/4 inches on the board for a late-round pick, Ohio State’s Will Howard (9 inches) and Washington’s Will Rogers (8 5/8) might be off the list. Most of the quarterbacks in this draft have hands of 9 1/2 inches or smaller.

Height

The shortest quarterback drafted by the Packers was Rodgers, who was exactly 6-foot-2.

Entering the draft, Green Bay’s depth chart consists of Love (6-foot-3 3/4), Clifford (6-foot-2) and Willis (6-foot 1/2). Gutekunst has shown he’ll make exceptions for veterans like Willis but has been mostly steadfast in the draft.

Quarterbacks shorter than 6-foot-2 include Ward (6-foot-1 5/8) and Sanders (6-foot-1 1/2) as well as Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (6-foot-1 7/8), Minnesota’s Max Brosmer (6-foot-1 5/8), North Dakota State’s Cam Miller (6-foot 7/8) and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (5-foot-11 1/8).

Interestingly, the Packers might prefer a Goldilocks quarterback of not too short and not too tall. Among the drafted quarterbacks, Love was the tallest.

This year’s perhaps-too-tall quarterbacks include Louisville’s Tyler Shough (6-foot-4 7/8), Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke (6-foot-4 1/4 and also has small-ish hands at 9 3/8 inches) and Canada’s Taylor Elgersma (6-foot-5).

The 40

The historic Scouting Combine average in the 40-yard dash is 4.822 seconds. Green Bay’s 40 times, from fastest to slowest: Clifford, 4.62; Hundley, 4.63; Rodgers, 4.71; Martin, 4.71; Love, 4.74; Flynn, 4.79, Brohm, 4.81; Coleman, 4.94. Neither Pratt nor Willis ran a 40. Only Coleman, a seventh-round pick, really missed the mark.

What does that mean for this year? Almost nothing, because most of the quarterbacks didn’t run a 40.

Relative Athletic Score

Relative Athletic Score takes height, weight, 40-yard time and other testing results and combines them into one 0-to-10 score based on historic data at the position.

The quarterbacks drafted by the Packers who participated in enough tests to qualify for a RAS, from highest to lowest: Hundley, 9.91; Clifford, 9.01; Martin, 8.93; Love, 8.54; Pratt, 8.26; Flynn, 7.09; Brohm, 6.84; Rodgers, 6.35; Coleman, 5.23. Willis didn’t take part in any testing so didn’t have a RAS; despite below-average height, he probably would have fared well because of his athleticism.

Most of this year’s quarterbacks didn’t take part in enough testing to earn a RAS. Of draftable quarterbacks, Louisville’s Tyler Shough scored a 9.71, Missouri’s Brady Cook a 9.72 and Houston’s Smith a 9.74.

So, Who’s Out?

With Oregon’s Gabriel (height) and Washington’s Rogers (hands) the only obvious prospects who don’t fit, let’s reframe the question. Who fits best among the non-first-rounders? Here they are, listed in order by fit and not necessarily skill.

Donovan Smith, Houston: 6-foot-4 1/8, 218 pounds. 4.63 40. 10 3/8 hands. 9.74 RAS.

Graham Mertz, Florida: 6-foot-3 3/8, 212 pounds. 9 3/4 hands. DNP 40. No RAS.

Riley Leonard, Notre Dame: 6-foot-3 3/4, 216 pounds, 9 1/2 hands. DNP 40. No RAS.

Kyle McCord, Syracuse: 6-foot-3, 218 pounds. 9 1/2 hands. DNP 40. No RAS.

Seth Henigan, Memphis: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. 9 1/2 hands. 4.76 40. 6.32 RAS.

Quinn Ewers, Texas: 6-foot-2 1/8, 214 pounds. 9 3/8 hands. DNP 40. No RAS.

Brady Cook, Missouri: 6-foot-2 1/8, 214 pounds. 9 1/4 hands. 4.59 40. 9.72 RAS.