How Does the NFL Measure Arm Length?

The National Football League has strict guidelines when it comes to player eligibility. One of the many requirements is arm length. So, how does the NFL measure arm length?

The Importance of Arm Length

The NFL has a very specific way of measuring arm length. This is because arms are very important in the game of football. They are used to throw the ball and to tackle. The longer your arms are, the better your chances of being a successful quarterback or wide receiver.

How Arm Length Affects NFL Players

How does the NFL measure arm length? It’s not just about looks, longer arms give players an advantage.

The average NFL player is about 6’2″ tall, but there is a lot of variation among players. Some are much taller, and some are shorter. One thing that all NFL players have in common, though, is that they are all incredibly fit and physically strong.

One aspect of physical strength that is often overlooked is arm length. Believe it or not, arm length can be a very important factor in how well a player performs on the field.

So how does the NFL measure arm length? Each player’s arms are measured from the tip of their shoulder to the middle of their palm. The longer a player’s arms are, the more of an advantage they have when it comes to blocking and tackling.

Players with longer arms can reach out and block or tackle an opponent before they have a chance to react. This gives them a huge advantage in the heat of the moment.

shorter-armed players have to be quicker and more aggressive in order to make up for their lack of reach. While this can still be effective, it is often less so than simply having longer arms.

In general, offensive lineman benefit the most from having long arms. Their job is to block defenders from getting to the quarterback, and longer arms give them a better chance of doing so. Linebackers and defensive backs also benefit from having longer arms, as they use them to make tackles and deflect passes.

Quarterbacks generally don’t need long arms as much as other positions do, but it can still be helpful for them to have some extra reach when throwing the ball downfield.

So if you’re wondering how the NFL measures arm length, now you know! It’s just one more way that players are evaluated before being drafted into the league.

The Benefits of Longer Arms

Aside from looking bad-ass, longer arms offer a number of benefits in football. In the NFL, where teams are always looking for any advantage they can find, players with longer arms tend to be more valued. Here’s a look at some of the benefits that come with having longer arms.

1. Longer Arms Equal More Reach
This one is pretty obvious. Players with longer arms can reach further to make tackles, deflect passes, and so on. That extra reach can be very valuable, particularly for defensive players who need to be able to tackle elusive quarterbacks and running backs.

2. Longer Arms Help in Pass Blocking
In addition to giving offensive linemen more reach to block defenders, longer arms also give them an advantage in keeping defenders at bay. Defenders with shorter arms have an easier time getting around blockers and getting into the backfield.

3. Longer Arms Give Quarterbacks More Time to Throw
This benefit applies to both quarterbacks and receivers. Quarterbacks with longer arms have a little more time to find open receivers before defenders close in on them. And receivers with longer arms have a better chance of making catches in traffic because defenders have less time to close in on them and knock the ball away.

4. Longer Arms Mean More Power
All other things being equal, players with longer arms will generate more power than those with shorter arms. That’s because they have a longer lever arm, which gives them an advantage in both strength and speed (think of a boxer throwing a long jab). This benefit is especially valuable for offensive and defensive linemen who need all the power they can get to push around their opponents

How the NFL Measures Arm Length

Players in the National Football League (NFL) are measured in a variety of ways, including arm length. The average arm length of an NFL player is between 32 and 34 inches. The measurement is taken from the tip of the player’s shoulder to the middle of the player’s palm.

The Official Method

The National Football League has a specific method for measuring arm length. This is important for evaluating draft prospects, as arm length can be a determining factor in NFL success.

Here’s how it’s done:
The official NFL arm length measurement is taken from the tip of the individual’s left hand to the bottom of his left armpit. The player must extend his arm fully, and the measurement is recorded to the nearest 1/8th of an inch.

This measurement is then used to calculate the player’s wingspan, which is simply the individual’s height multiplied by 2. That number is then compared to the player’s arm length measurement. The resulting percentage is used to determine whether or not a player has long arms for his height.

For example, if a player is 6’2” and has an arm length of 34 inches, his wingspan would be 72 inches (6’2” x 2 = 12’4”). His wingspan-to-arm ratio would then be 72 percent (72 inches / 34 inches = 2.12).

A general guideline used by NFL scouts is that a ratio of 80 percent or higher indicates that a player has long arms for his height. ratios between 75 and 79.9 percent are considered average, while ratios below 75 percent indicate that a player has short arms for his height.

The Unofficial Method

The unofficial method for measuring arm length is the “wingspan,” which is the distance from the tips of the fingers on one hand to the tips of the fingers on the other hand when the arms are outstretched. The problem with using wingspan to measure arm length is that it doesn’t take into account the different lengths of bones in different people’s arms. For example, someone with long bones in their arms may have a longer wingspan than someone with shorter bones, even though they have the same arm length.

To get around this problem, NFL scouts use a tape measure to measure the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the base of the neck. This measurement is called the “arm length.” The advantage of using arm length instead of wingspan is that it gives a more accurate representation of how long a player’s arms are, regardless of bone length.

The downside of using arm length to measure players’ arms is that it doesn’t take into account muscle mass or body size. So, for example, a player with long, thin arms may have a longer arm length than a player with shorter, thicker arms, even though the shorter player has bigger and stronger arms.

The Future of Arm Length Measurements

The National Football League has relied on the use of arm length measurements to help determine eligibility for the draft since the 1970s.

The NFL’s New Rule

In order to be eligible for the NFL draft, players must measure up to specific physical standards. For example, quarterbacks must typically have an arm span that falls between 60 and 76 inches. anything outside of that range is considered a “disadvantage.”

However, recent rule changes have expanded the acceptable range for quarterbacks’ arm spans. Now, quarterbacks can have an arm span of up to 80 inches. This change was likely made in order to allow more players to participate in the NFL draft.

While the new rule is certainly helpful for those with longer arms, it’s unclear how much it will actually impact the game of football. It’s possible that quarterbacks with longer arms will have an advantage when throwing the ball, but this advantage is likely to be small.

In any case, the new rule is a positive step for the NFL. By expanding the acceptable range for arm spans, the league is opening itself up to a wider pool of talent. And that can only be a good thing for the future of football.

What This Means for Players

This new rule could have a profound effect on how teams go about drafting and signing players, especially at the quarterback and wide receiver positions. For example, a tall quarterback with long arms would now have a significant advantage over a shorter quarterback with shorter arms, all else being equal. The same would be true for tall wide receivers with long arms versus shorter wide receivers with shorter arms.

This new rule could also lead to more quarterbacks and wide receivers being drafted and signed from small schools that are not typically known for producing NFL-caliber talent. This is because smaller schools often have players with longer arms relative to their height than bigger schools do. Therefore, this new rule could level the playing field somewhat between smaller schools and bigger schools when it comes to producing NFL talent.