Kyler Murray is going to be drafted tonight, likely very early in the 2019 Draft. At 5’10, he is really short for a first round quarterback: like really short.

Davey O’Brien (yes, that Davey O’Brien), standing 5’7, is the shortest quarterback ever selected in the first round. He was the 4th overall pick in the 1939 Draft. There have been no quarterbacks taken in the first round who were 5’8 or 5’9, and only five were standing exactly 5-foot-10: Ted Marchibroda (yes, that Ted Marchibroda), Travis Tidwell, Ernie Case, Boley Dancewicz, and Frankie Albert. All of these players were drafted in 1950 or earlier.

The modern draft era begins in 1967, when the AFL and NFL joined forces for the common draft. Since then, the shortest quarterbacks drafted are 6’0 Michael Vick and Johnny Manziel. And only 6 quarterbacks who were 6’1 went in the first round: Baker Mayfield, Jim McMahon, Clint Longley, Bob Griese, Rex Grossman, and Cade McNown. There have been no quarterbacks who were 5’11 and drafted in the first round, and tonight, Murray will become the first 5’10 quarterback drafted in the first round since 1950.

The graph below shows the distribution, by height, of quarterbacks selected in the first round since 1967. [continue reading…]