NFL Combine 2018: Most Notable Measurements from Thursday in Indianapolis

If football is a game of inches, the NFL Scouting Combine is an event defined by inches, pounds and tenths of seconds. How they stack up could be the difference between being a Day 1 pick and a Day 2 or 3 pick at the NFL draft.

In other words, money is often made or lost at the combine. 

Yes, that even includes a player's measurements. Quarterbacks, for instance, are judged on their height and hand size primarily. So, how did the quarterbacks in this year's class stack up?

NFL Research shared the measurements for Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield, two potential first-round picks at the position:

Allen has the prototypical size teams are looking for at the quarterback position. Mayfield does not. It doesn't mean Allen will necessarily be better than Mayfield at the pro level—Drew Brees and Russell Wilson are reminders that size isn't everything at quarterback—but scouts and front-office personnel will question whether Mayfield has the elite skills in other parts of his game to overcome some of his physical limitations.

As for the other two quarterbacks widely believed to be first-round prospects, Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com shared their measurements: 

No surprises there. 

As for Lamar Jackson, whose role at the next level remains unclear—he was a Heisman Trophy winner as a quarterback at Louisville, but there has been talk his best role would be at wide receiver in the NFL—his measurements came up closer to Mayfield, as expected:

Moving on to other positions, there won't be a shortage of tall wide receivers in this year's draft:

On the other hand, Alabama standout Calvin Ridley measured on the average side at the position: 

That isn't a huge deal, obviously, as players like Antonio Brown have proved size is far from everything at the position. Precise route running, excellent hands and breakaway speed go a long way, too.

Finally, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports shared the measurements from a few other first-round prospects on Thursday:

So there you have it, folks, a bunch of numbers that may or may not play any part in the above players' future success (or lack thereof). Of all the measurements, Mayfield's remains the most potentially impactful. There will probably be a team or two that move him way down the board based on his size alone. 

To each their own. But Brees slipped to the second round and Wilson to the third, and well, a whole lot of teams probably wish they hadn't let either player drop. That doesn't mean that Mayfield will be as good as either player in the NFL, but rather a reminder that the raw data measured at the combine generally doesn't say much about whether a player can actually perform at a high level in the NFL or not.