Size Matters
One of the things about the quarterback position is that it evolves with the league itself. As defenses adapt to stop them, the style of quarterback must also adapt. One development that has become a must over the past couple decades is the desire for more size. Offensive lineman have grown a lot in the past 50 years. Back then they were 6’3″ and barely weighed 250 lbs. Now they hover around 6’5″, 310 lbs. That’s quite the Super Mario mushroom-style growth spurt.
A key facet that is always overlooked but vital to a quarterback is vision. The better they can see the field, the easier it is to make throws. Shorter ones tend to have their vision obstructed. Usually the going belief among most draft experts today is a QB should be at least 6’3″ and preferably 6’4″ or taller. They say it’s a game of inches and they weren’t joking. Here is the standing height of the four quarterbacks remaining the NFL playoffs.
- Ben Roethlisberger: 6’5″
- Matt Ryan: 6’5″
- Tom Brady: 6’4″
- Aaron Rodgers: 6’2″
Only Rodgers falls below the minimum line, and it’s not by much. He also gets away with it because of his exceptional mobility. This is where the Bears have failed repeatedly in previous years. Not only do they pick small, but they pick relatively immobile too. Here is every first round pick they’ve made in the Super Bowl era and what their height was.
- Rex Grossman: 6’1″
- Cade McNown: 6’1″
- Jim Harbaugh: 6’3″
- Jim McMahon: 6’1″
Harbaugh met the bare minimum requirement of height. The others were considerably below it. McMahon was the most successful of the bunch and that was because he could run. Yet even he had a fatal flaw that shorter quarterbacks tend to share: durability issues. They have a difficult time staying healthy and the Bears proved that. McMahon played more than nine games in a season just twice in seven years with Chicago. McNown suffered a shoulder injury in addition to being terrible and Grossman had a myriad of health problems as well.
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There are exceptions to the size rule such as Russell Wilson and Drew Brees among others. However, the trend of “bigger is better” has been the case for a long time in the NFL. In fact of the 10 quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl since 2000, just three of them stood under 6’4″.
