What is the minimum height for a quarterback?

[ramsftw3 1]

In your opinion that is. I keep hearing people bag on Russell Wilson for being 5'11 (which is above average in height in the United States as the average for men is 5'9). I personally don't believe that height is a big deal in the National Football League, but I'm asking this since other people seem to think so. Even Drew Brees and Michael Vick who are 6'0 are still bagged on for their height, and 6'0 is extremely tall in my opinion as a person who is around 6'3. Would it be 6'1, 6'2 or 6'3 for you?

[Attyla the Hawk 197]

Wilson is an extreme outlier in terms of effectiveness with a height deficit.

 

Brees, like Wilson, does have problems with vision. They compensate for that by developing the skill to see through lanes at a very high level. They also have an extremely firm command of the play timing.

 

Wilson has enormous hands. His hand size was bigger than that of 6'8" Brock Osweiler. The ball looks like a Jr mini ball in his hands. Most smaller QBs have hands to match. It was a problem with Dave Kreig who was a shorter QB from Seahawks yesteryear.

 

Wilson's delivery is almost exaggerated in it's over the top motion. His release point is higher than a 3/4 delivery from a 6'3" QB.

 

Wilson has developed other attributes to compensate for his height deficiency. At this point, it's impossible to divorce these qualities from his height, as necessity is the mother of invention. If he's a taller QB, it's likely he doesn't develop the other skills he possesses simply because he wouldn't need to in order to succeed. The qualities he has really have tangible roots in the fact that he needed to achieve them because he is short.

 

If you are going to be a short QB, then you have to overdevelop other skills in order to compensate for that. You have to be a special cat in order to be capable of doing that.

[GA_Eagle 595]

Height is a factor if I'm drafting a QB, but if the guy has proven he can play, I couldn't care less. I would be hesitant drafting a smallish QB because it does make his job that much more difficult but obviously it can be done and at the absolute highest level.

[Vin+ 3,121]

Pretty much what GA said. If the guy can throw, it doesn't matter what his height is. It's if he can't is where you have your problem.

[.AirMcNair. 1,232]

The average offensive lineman in today's NFL is 6'5. Ideally you're not going to want someone any shorter than 6'2 standing behind them. How often do you see Drew Brees go under center, take a 3 step drop then fire out a pass? It's very rare. It's either a 5 to 7 step drop, a shotgun formation, or a roll out. Then you look at guys like Peyton Manning who have made a hall of fame career out of reading defenses extremely quickly and getting the ball out on a 3 step drop for a quick 5-10 yard gain on a slant.

 

I didn't watch a ton of Wilson last year, but from what I did, very similar style of play to Brees.

 

You're basically eliminating what can be a very crucial part of your offense when you draft a QB that's 5'11/6'0. There's a reason Wilson fell as far as he did..it wasn't because of his talent. There's a reason why Drew Brees, the best college QB in the country, fell to the 2nd round. It's not because of his talent.

 

Vick got to go #1 overall because of his ridiculous speed/teams knew he wasn't going to be a traditional drop back guy anyway, so his height didn't really matter, as 90+% of his passes were likely to be on the run/on a roll out.

 

So, my minimum height requirement would be 6'2, and even that is pushing it a little. The "ideal" is 6'5.

[ramsftw3 1]

The average offensive lineman in today's NFL is 6'5. Ideally you're not going to want someone any shorter than 6'2 standing behind them. How often do you see Drew Brees go under center, take a 3 step drop then fire out a pass? It's very rare. It's either a 5 to 7 step drop, a shotgun formation, or a roll out. Then you look at guys like Peyton Manning who have made a hall of fame career out of reading defenses extremely quickly and getting the ball out on a 3 step drop for a quick 5-10 yard gain on a slant.

 

I didn't watch a ton of Wilson last year, but from what I did, very similar style of play to Brees.

 

You're basically eliminating what can be a very crucial part of your offense when you draft a QB that's 5'11/6'0. There's a reason Wilson fell as far as he did..it wasn't because of his talent. There's a reason why Drew Brees, the best college QB in the country, fell to the 2nd round. It's not because of his talent.

 

Vick got to go #1 overall because of his ridiculous speed/teams knew he wasn't going to be a traditional drop back guy anyway, so his height didn't really matter, as 90+% of his passes were likely to be on the run/on a roll out.

 

So, my minimum height requirement would be 6'2, and even that is pushing it a little. The "ideal" is 6'5.

 

What if they were like 186-187 centimeters though?

[BUCK3Y3 44]

What if they were like 186-187 centimeters though?

 

That would be about 6'1".

[theMileHighGuy 656]

6-8

 

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

With Brees and Wilson, and the in-coming Tajh Boyd the height isn't an issue because the way they maneuver in the pocket to find passing lanes but more so that that — the ability to throw from different arm slots and change the platform of their release. As we saw in the UGA/Clemson game on that TD pass to Sammy Watkins, Boyd threw it side arm. But that's not his normal delivery. He could improvise and still be accurate.

 

Wilson had this too which is why I was really high on him in the draft while he was getting pushed down due to the height. A guy who's smarter than me at football and knows far more than me clued me into this skill and why their height didn't matter.

 

Speaking of UGA/Clemson, this is a reason I'm more down on Aaron Murray. He's on the shorter side for a QB as well. Difference is he can't throw from different arm slots and change his release to get over the line. He has a serious problem with batted balls at the LOS.

 

So if the QB can't improvise with his release like the first three guys, or maneuver in the pocket to find open lanes I'd say minimum is around that 6'2 area too.