The Detroit Lions took tight end Michael Roberts with their second pick in the fourth-round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s a player they have had an eye on for a while. Detroit met with Roberts both at the Senior Bowl and Roberts’ Pro Day.
Roberts had 16 touchdowns with the Toledo Rockets in 2016, but it was his crazy hand size that really turned heads at the NFL Combine. Roberts’ hands measured in at 11 5/8 inches wide. According to Kyle Meinke, those are the largest mitts the NFL Combine has seen in five years, and is just 0.125 inches off the record.
For reference, the width of an NFL football is 11 1/4 inches. That’s right, Roberts’ hands are literally wider than a football.
Meinke had to see what those hands looked like in real life, and... HOLY CRAP:
This is what Michael Roberts' hands look like compared to a human's hands. (Mine.) pic.twitter.com/R5S1NRSR52
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) April 29, 2017
Those big hands led to first-team All-MAC honors in 2016 and should be a lot of help for the Lions. Roberts has reliable hands in the passing game, but doesn’t mind using them to block as well.
With those hands, it’s hard to imagine anyone escape the grasp of Roberts.