These Quarterback Prospects Might Not Be on Packers’ Draft Board

There’s a lot that goes into playing quarterback. Arm strength, leadership and pocket presence will all be scouted by Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and his scouts as they consider adding to a quarterback room that lost Malik Willis in free agency.

Other key factors are hand size, height and athletic ability.

The Packers have a “type” at every position, and quarterback is no different. Here’s a closer look at Green Bay’s draft history and what it could mean in terms of which prospects they’ll consider in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Hand Size

Big hands matter on the type of cold days that define Green Bay football. Dating to the Packers’ selection of Aaron Rodgers in 2005, these are the hand sizes of their drafted quarterbacks, along with some recent backups.

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.

Malik Willis (2022), 9 1/2 inches.

DeShone Kizer (2017), 9 7/8 inches.

Tim Boyle (2018), 9 5/8 inches.

Desmond Ridder, who was signed late in the season, has 10-inch hands. Kyle McCord, who was signed after the season, has 9 1/2-inch hands.

With 9 1/4-inch hands, Pratt, who was drafted by Gutekunst, and Flynn, who was drafted by Gutekunst’s mentor, Ted Thompson, are the outliers. Both were drafted in the seventh round.

Quarterbacks with hands smaller than 9 1/4 inches are LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (9 1/8 inches), Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis (9 1/8 inches), Illinois’ Luke Altmyer (9 inches), Georgia Tech’s Haynes King (9 inches), Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos (8 7/8) and Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff (8 3/4).

Extra credit goes to Miami’s Carson Beck, North Dakota State’s Cole Payton, Iowa’s Mark Gronowski and Minnesota State Mankato’s Luke Strand, all of whom have hands of at least 10 inches.

Height

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

Green Bay’s depth chart consists of Love (6-foot-3 3/4), Ridder (6-3 3/8) and McCord (6-3).

Willis was only 6-foot 1/2, but Gutekunst has shown a willingness to bend on measurables on proven veterans with much greater frequency than on draft prospects. Just because he hasn’t drafted a quarterback shorter than 6-foot-2 doesn’t mean he wouldn’t, but we find it hard to believe he’d go considerably shorter than 6-foot-2.

So, while LSU’s Nussmeier (6-foot-1 3/4) could be on the board, Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones (6-1 5/8) and Louisville’s Miller Moss (6-1 3/8) might not be on the board, and Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff (6-0 3/4), Kansas’ Jalon Daniels (6-0 3/4), Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia (5-9 7/8) and Florida State’s Castellanos (5-9 3/4) probably will not.

Love, by the way, is the tallest of Green Bay’s drafted quarterbacks. Arkansas’ Taylen Green (6-5 7/8) is the only draftable quarterback standing at 6-foot-5 or taller.

The 40

The historic Scouting Combine average in the 40-yard dash is 4.818 seconds, .

The 40 times by Green Bay’s drafted quarterbacks, 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 really missed the mark.

Ridder ran his 40 in 4.52; McCord did not go through testing.

Only three draftable quarterbacks who ran a 40 were slower than the average. Rutgers’ Kaliakmanis (4.92) was about a tenth of a second slower than the average. Texas Tech’s Behren Morton (4.89) was slower, too, but he had a predraft visit with Green Bay. UConn’s Joe Fagnano (4.83) was slower by a negligible amount.

Relative Athletic Score

Relative Athletic Score takes a prospect’s height, weight, 40-yard time and other testing results and creates a 0-to-10 score based on historical 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.

With height and athleticism, Ridder’s RAS was 9.63. Neither McCord nor Willis went through the testing necessary to quality or a RAS.

Texas Tech’s Morton (5.40), Rutgers’ Kaliakmanis (5.37) and Vanderbilt’s Pavia (4.49) are among the quarterbacks who scored poorly.

So, Who’s (Maybe) Out?

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (hands).

Illinois’ Luke Alymyer (hands).

Georgia’ Tech’s Haynes King (hands).

Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis (hands and speed).

Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones (height).

Louisville’s Miller Moss (height).

Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff (height, hands).

Kansas’ Jalon Daniels (height).

Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia (height).

Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos (height, hands).