INDIANAPOLIS -- Kenny Pickett's late arrival to his Wednesday press session did not make reporters forget about his most popular current narrative.
It's still all about hand size.
Pickett was asked about the importance of hand size, how it might affect his play and draft stock, and even about how he can attempt to improve his current situation. To everyone's surprise, Pickett revealed he's been doing exercises designed to improve his measurement.
This all came before Pickett had his hands officially measured Thursday.
"Whatever it measures, it measures," Pickett said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I'm sure that won't be the end of it, but that'll be the last measurement I'm sure I'll take of it."
Pickett didn't have his hands measured at the Senior Bowl in order to buy himself a couple of extra weeks to continue doing his exercises, which Pickett described as basic stretches. It matters because, well, he uses his right hand to grip and throw the football, one of the primary tasks of playing quarterback, and a smaller hand would logically make doing so more difficult.
To this point, he's played the position quite well, especially in the last year. Pickett emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate in his fifth and final collegiate season at the University of Pittsburgh, completing 67.2% of passes for 4,319 yards and a 42-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Panthers ascended accordingly, finishing the season as the 13th-ranked team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Pickett's rise has him projected to be selected in the first round of a draft that isn't especially strong at quarterback. The notion hasn't had an impact on Pickett's confidence.
"Everyone's gonna have their own opinions," Pickett said. "I think there's great players in this class. It is what it is. It's their opinion."
One of the teams in the quarterback market is a club Pickett knows quite well from essentially being its neighbor in college. The Pittsburgh Steelers share a training facility with the Panthers, and Pickett got a front row look at the Steelers during his time at Pitt, even spending some time chatting with coach Mike Tomlin.
"He'd always come over and hang out with us for a little bit during the summer," Pickett recalled. "I remember as a freshman, the first time that happened, watching Antonio Brown and Ben (Roethlisberger) out there and (Tomlin) would come sit down and hang out and I wouldn't leave the bench until he left. Been there for five years, so a long time I've known coach and it's been a pretty special relationship."
Tomlin's Steelers could choose Pickett as their replacement for Roethlisberger, and the quarterback would only have to shift his belongings to the other side of the UPMC Sports Performance Complex. Or the Steelers could go in a different direction, especially if Pickett ends up being selected in the top 10 of the draft.
Historically, at least one team spends a top-10 pick on a quarterback in nearly every draft. That could be Pickett, and barring a trade, that would eliminate the Steelers, who currently sit at No. 20.
Crazier things have happened, though, and a Pitt-Pickett pairing could end up becoming a reality. Familiarity is already on Pickett's side, and by the time Pickett ends up being selected, the talk about his hands will be old news.
