The debate about how much hand size should factor into quarterback evaluations rippled to the forefront of the NFL Scouting Combine last week, and it could continue well into the spring at Cleveland Browns headquarters.
The Browns have made no secret of the fact that they want to pick a QB in this year's draft -- it's expected they'll have their choice of the draft's top players at the position, Cal's Jared Goff and North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, when they're on the clock with the No. 2 overall pick.
Hand size happens to be one of the most tangible differences between the draft's top two QBs, as Wentz has a full inch advantage on Goff, who comes out on the small side in the category at 9 inches.
Jackson is already on the record as a believer that hand size matters for QBs, especially ones playing in the Browns' division, where rainy, snowy weather can be a factor, and he reiterated that on Thursday. He was also asked about Goff's hand size for the first time since the official measurements were released at the combine.
"As long as he can hold the ball and he doesn't get stripped, it's not a problem to me," Jackson said, per The Akron Beacon Journal. "But if there's a problem that way, then it would be a consideration."
It'll be up to Jackson and the Browns to determine whether Goff's 23 fumbles during his three seasons at Cal are indeed a problem. Goff said at the combine that he felt he improved in that area -- he fumbled just 4 times last season.
"I've been told I have pretty big hands my whole life," Goff said last week. "I heard I have small hands yesterday, apparently. Naw, I've never had a problem with that or expect it to be a problem at all."
Jackson said Thursday that Cleveland isn't anywhere close to making a decision on which direction to go in with the No. 2 overall pick. The coach plans to attend the pro days of the top QB prospects, and Goff will be due up first on March 18.
"We want to draft a quarterback," Jackson told WKRK-FM in Cleveland, per The Beacon Journal. "But it's got to be the right fit, it's got to be the right person, it's got to have the right feel."
And it needs to have the right hands, too.
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