With the Giants in need of a QB and in possession of a high draft pick in a QB-rich class, there has been a lot of discussion on this board of the top QB prospects. Oftentimes, posters bring up concerns about a quarterback’s height, lamenting that so and so looks like a good prospect, but he just can’t get past his height. I believe that these concerns are completely without basis and are not backed by the evidence.
The following graph shows passer rating by height from 1997-2016:
The following graph compares height to ANY/A for the 2022 season, resulting in an R^2 value of 0.0035. Meaning only 0.35% of the variance in ANY/A was caused by height:
There is simply no data to back up this idea that quarterbacks need to be X inches tall to perform well in the NFL. Offensive linemen do not stand up perfectly straight when blocking; a quarterback does not need to see over all 6’6” of a lineman to be able to see the field from the pocket. Obviously, there is some sort of lower limit whereby you would be too short to play quarterback, however, that seems to fall outside of the range of heights of quarterbacks entering the league. When looking at QB prospects, we should look at the things that actually matter, not height.
And if one goes through the names, the QBs that would go at the top of an open player draft are 6'3" and up.
Lamar is an exception because of his running ability.
Taller QBs are given more chances to perform, poorly in many cases, which drags down the overall rating. But height does matter for elite passing performance.
Second with the little guys it really comes down to what offense you want to run. This is not shown in those stats, which is why stats never tell the whole story. If you have Flutie or Kyler, you can't have an offense like a Manning would run from the pocket. You need to get him out of the pocket to create better views, and also run different routes which will result in clearer windows. Not all teams want to do this, or have the correct personnel to do this. Its sort of limiting IMO. A guy like Josh Allen (as an example) can run just about any offense you want to run, smaller guys can not. Since the coaching staff has to make it work, they change things to try and accommodate the small QBs
And if one goes through the names, the QBs that would go at the top of an open player draft are 6'3" and up.
Lamar is an exception because of his running ability.
Taller QBs are given more chances to perform, poorly in many cases, which drags down the overall rating. But height does matter for elite passing performance.
I implore you, find me data that backs that up and post it. If they are correlated, do you really believe that out of all quarterbacks over 20 years that no correlation would show? This obsession with QB height is for the most part nothing but superstition. Again, if they are correlated, find data that backs that up.
I implore you, find me data that backs that up and post it. If they are correlated, do you really believe that out of all quarterbacks over 20 years that no correlation would show? This obsession with QB height is for the most part nothing but superstition. Again, if they are correlated, find data that backs that up.
Ever notice the height bias of baseball pitchers? Or that tall tennis players are the ones that tend to have the big serves?
It's physics. Here's a comment on baseball pitching that applies as well to football passing:
The Science Behind It
To comprehend the height-velocity connection, we need to dive into the biomechanics of pitching. Taller pitchers generally have longer limbs, which can provide a mechanical advantage. Longer limbs mean a longer lever, allowing for greater force to be applied to the ball during the pitch. This often translates to higher velocity.
Statistical data should be your servant, not your master. Otherwise, you may be drawing meaningless correlations without getting at meaningful causal relationships.
As I mentioned, if one goes name by name, and looks at the QBs who would go at the top of an open player draft, the relationship between height and top performance is undeniable. That's meaningful data.
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I implore you, find me data that backs that up and post it. If they are correlated, do you really believe that out of all quarterbacks over 20 years that no correlation would show? This obsession with QB height is for the most part nothing but superstition. Again, if they are correlated, find data that backs that up.
Ever notice the height bias of baseball pitchers? Or that tall tennis players are the ones that tend to have the big serves?
It's physics. Here's a comment on baseball pitching that applies as well to football passing:
Quote:
The Height-Velocity Connection: Pitcher's Height Affects Velocity
The Science Behind It
To comprehend the height-velocity connection, we need to dive into the biomechanics of pitching. Taller pitchers generally have longer limbs, which can provide a mechanical advantage. Longer limbs mean a longer lever, allowing for greater force to be applied to the ball during the pitch. This often translates to higher velocity.
Statistical data should be your servant, not your master. Otherwise, you may be drawing meaningless correlations without getting at meaningful causal relationships.
As I mentioned, if one goes name by name, and looks at the QBs who would go at the top of an open player draft, the relationship between height and top performance is undeniable. That's meaningful data.
And height helps with a golf swing too.
I think with football throwing, height is more of a thing with being able to see than arm strength, mechanics, etc. Hand size matters more for being able to throw the ball in most cases. Often the two are correlated but not always (I believe Russell Wilson has bigger hands than most other NFL QBs). Mechanics and flexibility matter more than being big and muscular too, on average.
A guy like Josh Allen probably has all those things and hence the crazy arm strength, but more the exception than the rule. Plus of course he has the ability to play the position well too outside his physical prowess.
With QBs, once you get to 6'1 or so, you're more or less out of the danger zone with a QB being too short. A 6'4 or 6'5 QB being better is just luck of the draw with being able to play the position (Brady or Peyton Manning, respectively) than it has to do with anything else.
All this might change if you're trying to judge mobile QBs, but even then you have smaller guys like Lamar Jackson vs big ones like Cam Newton.
Quote:
I implore you, find me data that backs that up and post it. If they are correlated, do you really believe that out of all quarterbacks over 20 years that no correlation would show? This obsession with QB height is for the most part nothing but superstition. Again, if they are correlated, find data that backs that up.
Ever notice the height bias of baseball pitchers? Or that tall tennis players are the ones that tend to have the big serves?
It's physics. Here's a comment on baseball pitching that applies as well to football passing:
Quote:
The Height-Velocity Connection: Pitcher's Height Affects Velocity
The Science Behind It
To comprehend the height-velocity connection, we need to dive into the biomechanics of pitching. Taller pitchers generally have longer limbs, which can provide a mechanical advantage. Longer limbs mean a longer lever, allowing for greater force to be applied to the ball during the pitch. This often translates to higher velocity.
Statistical data should be your servant, not your master. Otherwise, you may be drawing meaningless correlations without getting at meaningful causal relationships.
As I mentioned, if one goes name by name, and looks at the QBs who would go at the top of an open player draft, the relationship between height and top performance is undeniable. That's meaningful data.
Velocity isn't a performance metric for quarterbacks. Yes, taller quarterbacks on average throw a bit harder than their shorter counterparts, but in an evaluation of prospects their arm strength would be evaluated independently of their height. If throwing velocity was all that mattered Joe Milton would be the #1 quarterback of this class. The reason you gave me this thing about pitchers is because there is no data showing a correlation between height and quarterback performance. If a correlation really existed, there would be data to show for it.