The second of the series will then look at the combine performance–such as 40 time and 3-cone drills. Notable 2020 WRs that are below the 25th percentile for top-36 receivers: Of the 515 WRs that have recorded a fantasy score since 2000, only 23 have had a hand size of 9 inches or less and had at least 1 top-36 season in PPR. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. ESPN Fantasy Projection: Fitzgerald is back for his 17th NFL season. Larry Fitzgerald's handspan measures 10.50 inches, which is quite large. Arm Length is the measurement from the end of a player’s bicep or shoulder blade to the tip of a player’s middle finger with the arm extended. Talking heads get paid six figures to discuss the relevance of a player’s hands, to dissect athletic movements that are rarely (if ever) employed on an actual football field. Fitzgerald has a very low ceiling and is only an option in very deep PPR leagues. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Fitzgerald's role limited him to just one weekly finish better than 19th last season (ninth in Week 1). © 2020 NFL Enterprises LLC.

While doing so may create more overlap on the graphs, it helps to highlight instances of consistency or outlier seasons. OBJ injured: What should we expect in Cleveland now? If a data point in a player’s profile stands out as a flag, consideration for other facets of a player’s profile–such as athletic or in-game performance–should be prioritized. Rather, it is meant to provide objective and informative research with which we can view these players with as little bias as possible. This series will be written in 2 parts: the first will examine the historical data regarding measurements–such as hand size and arm length–and then examine the 2020 rookie class using the historical data as a filter. Join over 10,000 subscribers and get updated on new podcast releases, private giveaways, new tools, mock drafts and more... We hate spam. Healthy Christian Kirk breaks free with his feet and fingertips, Vacuum the floor?

Cardinals' bolder Kyler Murray stays humble, Cardinals' receiver DeAndre Hopkins' XXXL hands are 'incredible', Cardinals' Kyler Murray: DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk can all reach 1K yards, Fitz's goal: Turn protest momentum into change, Kliff Kingsbury: Cardinals support players' search for social justice, WR Fitzgerald doesn't recognize this Minneapolis, NFL all-decade: Best player on each NFC West team, every position, By the numbers: DeAndre Hopkins leads Larry Fitzgerald after seven seasons, DeAndre Hopkins gives Cardinals QB Kyler Murray everything he needs. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Copyright: © 2020 ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. This series will begin to try to anchor our fantasy football-starved souls to the ground using historical data and making objective observations. In this case, looking at a player’s points per game (PPG) is a preferred productive measure: while it is by no means perfect, it helps to translate these findings into meaningful, actionable data points. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League.

While doing so may create more overlap on the graphs, it helps to highlight instances of consistency or outlier seasons. In many cases, this resulted in a player such as Larry Fitzgerald creating a “stack” of multiple top-X seasons. The chart below shows the hand size relative to points-per-game for players designated as WR since 2000. Body Mass Index, or BMI, can be used as an indicator of high body fatness. A reason for this could be due to the way BMI can quickly shift from athlete to athlete: a 5’11”, 200lb player has a BMI that is .8 points higher than a 6’0″, 200lb player. NFL footage © NFL Productions LLC. In addition, players with a hand size greater than 10.5 may be larger body athletes, to begin with, and thus hold a different position designation, such as Tight End. Still time for these to evolve as I dig deeper and more games become available but it sure is fun, The crystal balls made an appearance on this week's show , Easy as pie. Hit the DynastyGM to see which teams he is rostered on. Fitzgerald is entering his age-37 season and his targets will take another hit with DeAndre Hopkins now in the fold. A note of further clarification: in this exercise, I elected to count every season for every player as an individual data point. Another notable observation is that the 75th percentile hand size for top-12 WRs is .25 inches larger than the 75th percentile for top-36 WRs.

At the same time, many of us recognize we are being pulled into the sensationalism of it–entire narratives are built off of a single unit of measurement. Latest on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN We can examine such measurements with confidence. Career Stats for WR Larry Fitzgerald.

The NFL Combine is a beloved and despised event. These will warrant a different look as, unlike measurements, performance can change over time. Fitzgerald has a very low ceiling and is only an option in very deep PPR leagues.

By identifying the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile for hand size for players that finished in the top-12, top-24 and top-36, we can begin to identify thresholds for ideal hand size. 6 RBs in for the 2021 class and one has a higher total than any from the 2020 class and another rated significantly lower than I expected

In the case of the NFL, BMI can be used to get a better idea of a person’s athletic build. No longer a downfield threat, Fitzgerald has ranked in the 17th percentile or lower in YPR in each of the past five seasons and hasn't cleared six touchdowns since 2015. Week 2 Fantasy WAR Update: Why Aaron Jones is NOT the MVP Through Week 2, Do Efficiency Metrics Matter? Fitzgerald is entering his age-37 season and his targets will take another hit with DeAndre Hopkins now in the fold. No longer a downfield threat, Fitzgerald has ranked in the 17th percentile or lower in YPR in each of the past five seasons and hasn't cleared six touchdowns since 2015. A sub-25th percentile Hand Size is not a nail in the coffin; it should, however, like all metrics, be taken in stride with a player’s athletic profile as a whole. @StatholeSports helps you find out where each of your... @JoeWarrenFF investigates what our expectations should be regarding the Cleveland Browns wide receivers. Workout at 5 a.m.? Arizona's primary slot receiver put together another solid season in 2019, ranking 17th in the league in receptions (75), while not dropping a single one of his 108 targets. Coming less than a month after the Super Bowl, it reminds us that yes, Football is still alive and well; it allows us to begin putting measurements and metrics to our favorite college athletes. Arizona's primary slot receiver put together another solid season in 2019, ranking 17th in the league in receptions (75), while not dropping a single one of his 108 targets. YEAR TEAM G REC YDS AVG LNG TD 1st 1st% 20+ 40+ 2004 Arizona Cardinals The result of Arm Length as it relates to Fantasy Football production can be seen below–again, the dashed vertical lines represent the 25th and 75th percentile boundaries for a top-36 fantasy WR. This will be broken out throughout the regular season–post-season games will not be included.

If we look at how many players have put up a top-12 season with hands 9 inches or less, it’s only 5 players: The historical data indicates that hand size is more important for WRs than it is for other positions. In many cases, this resulted in a player such as Larry Fitzgerald creating a “stack” of multiple top-X seasons.

By doing so, we will be able to further recognize the significant correlation between measurements and fantasy performance. Get your trade game on! As seen above, there are only 2 instances where a WR with hands less than 9 inches finished the season as a top-12 WR: both instances were with T.Y. We will be attempting to examine a player’s combine measurements and athletic performance in a way that relates directly to fantasy football. The nature of the NFL Combine itself leads to many factors that can affect the testing of these players. In both cases, historical data will be presented in an as simple and insightful way as possible, and then used as a lens through which to examine the incoming class–in this case, the 2020 Rookies. Regardless, we can split out the historical data around Arm Length into meaningful thresholds: Notable 2020 WRs with an arm length less than 31 (the 25th percentile for top-36 WRs): Past Pro WRs with an arm length of 31.5 or less that produced at least 1 top-12 season: There is clearly a better track record of football athletes with sub-25th percentile arm lengths. Regardless, the thresholds for each production tier seem to be more meaningful: Notable 2020 Prospects with a BMI of less than 26.25 (the 25th percentile for top-36 WRs): Lastly, here are a few notable NFL athletes that had at least 1 top-12 season with a BMI below the WR3 25th percentile of 26.25: These measurements and the resulting research should not be viewed as the be-all, end-all metric for football player evaluation. At 6'3", his handspan is around 14.1% wider than average for his height.

Disclaimer: This series is in no way meant to identify locks or busts in the upcoming draft class. Fitzgerald's role limited him to just one weekly finish better than 19th last season (ninth in Week 1).

Fitzgerald is back for his 17th NFL season. Hilton (2014 and 2016). Windhorst: Fitzgerald's Suns investment is smart for Sarver too, Fitzgerald: Murray's talent is out of this world, Fitzgerald: Kyler's 'really got the juice'. Stafford news drops.

This could further support the hypothesis that larger hands correlate to top-end fantasy production–at least for Wide Receivers. Unlike Wingspan, Arm Length has been consistently measured for the better part of the last 20 years.

Armchair analysts confirm their biases about the quality of players. Larry Fitzgerald. It is both a glorious and troubling time. I love working on the #NerdScore. A player is unlikely to gain height or arm length. Or do they? The two dashed vertical lines represent the 25th and 75th percentile thresholds for players that finished their respective season as a top-36 WR in PPR scoring. For this study in particular, I am using fantasy data from 2000-2019. In addition to comparing measurements and athletic performance to fantasy points, we identifying where players tend to finish in terms of fantasy scoring relative to their position rank in a PPR format. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Thanks @DynastyNerds #fantasyfootball @MyFantasyLeague. The plot above demonstrates that Arm Size seems to be less important than Hand Size, as there is a broader distribution of top performers across all tiers. Measurements capture important information–much of this information outside of weight remains static over the course of a player’s career. Hand Size is the measurement from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinky from an outstretched hand. Dynasty Nerds Head of Analytics @SuperFlexerFF tells you what you need to know about keeping the numbers in the proper perspective.

It is different than Wingspan, which measures the distance between the tips of a player’s middle fingers with arms extended.

While there have not been any “true” WRs to record a top-12 season with a hand size greater than 10.5, this may be due to there being fewer players overall with hand size greater than 10.5.