Joe Staley doesn’t care about your measurables

The NFL combine is one of the first chances teams get to quantify some of what they’ve seen on tape. They measure height, weight, arm length, hand size, speed, agility – everything that can possibly be used to evaluate and project a player’s future success.

One major problem with shaking football players down to numbers is that it doesn’t always provide an accurate outlook. In fact, sometimes the desired number of a measurement leads teams to overlook otherwise talented prospects. Just ask long-time 49ers tackle Joe Staley.

ESPN’s Todd McShay tweeted about one of the 2019 draft’s top offensive line prospects, Jonah Williams, whose arms measured at 33 5/8 inches. McShay noted that that falls short of the 34 1/2 inch arms teams desire for tackles.

Staley, a 12-year veteran and six-time Pro Bowler, had the perfect response to McShay’s tweet:

Staley’s arms measured out a shade over 33 inches at his Pro Day at Central Michigan. He had good size and athleticism otherwise, and wound up going No. 26 overall to the 49ers. The Cardinals selected Penn State’s Levi Brown No. 5 overall. Brown made zero Pro Bowls and was out of the league in 2014.

This is just one of a host of examples that serve as a reminder to not get wrapped up in combine measurables. Teams have their ideal checkpoints for measurements, but ultimately they need to focus on whether a player is good on the field.

A good player doesn’t suddenly become worse because their arms don’t hit a certain length or they’re a tad underweight. Staley’s arms were “too short” by NFL standards, and he’s put together a career that will earn him some Hall of Fame votes.