NFL Players With the Longest Arms at Every Position

From Jon Harris’ 38½-inch arms to a punter approaching 35 inches, these are the longest documented measurements we found across 16 NFL positions

A quarterback with 35-inch arms. A 6-foot fullback measured at 34 inches. A long snapper whose arms are longer still.

Football’s most unusual measurements turn up well beyond the line of scrimmage. Our research into 68 exceptionally long documented NFL arm measurements was dominated by offensive tackles and defensive linemen. That left a different question: who has the longest documented arms at every position, including the players who throw, carry, catch and kick the ball?

The resulting lineup includes first-round picks, undrafted players and a receiver who finished his NFL career with one catch. Jon Harris leads the entire group at 38½ inches. The shortest measurement among these 16 positional leaders is 32¼ inches.

How this list works

Arm length means one arm, measured from the shoulder to the tip of the middle finger. It is different from wingspan, which measures across both outstretched arms and the shoulders.

Every featured player appeared in at least one NFL regular-season game at the position credited here. A documented regular-season position change or appearance qualifies; a college role, training-camp experiment or roster signing alone does not. Offensive tackles and guards are separate categories; linebackers and safeties are grouped rather than divided into individual roles.

We retain the values in Rare Athlete Lab’s verified measurement file and disclose conflicting public figures. Additional selections use the longest sufficiently supported figure found in event records, contemporary reporting or NFL profiles; NFL-listed measurements qualify even when the original event is unidentified, but are not presented as combine results.

There is one featured player per position. A genuine measurement tie is acknowledged, with source quality and established NFL participation helping determine the featured selection. These are the longest measurements located in our research, rather than a claim that complete records survive for every player in NFL history. Heights below are listed heights, not necessarily measurements from the same event as the arm figure. Differences as small as ⅛″ rank the published records; they should not be read as proof of a permanent physical advantage across measurement events.

The full lineup

Offense

Quarterback · EJ Manuel — 35 inches

Height: 6′4″ · Arm length: 35″

Manuel’s 35-inch arms match those of Khaled Holmes, this lineup’s center. It is an offensive-line measurement attached to a quarterback listed at 6′4″.

Buffalo selected him 16th overall in 2013, making him the first quarterback taken that year. His NFL career never matched those first-round expectations, but his measurement remains exceptional at the position.

His NFL profile lists 35-inch arms and a height of 6′4″.

Running back · James Starks — 33¾ inches

Height: 6′2″ · Arm length: 33¾″

Starks helped Green Bay win Super Bowl XLV. As a rookie, he rushed for 315 yards across the Packers’ four playoff games following the 2010 regular season.

His 33¾-inch arms add an unusual physical detail to that story. Running backs often work in crowded spaces where balance, vision and acceleration attract more attention than arm length. Starks nevertheless had the arm length of a much larger player.

Also measured: Josh Adams — 33¾″ on his NFL profile. Starks is the featured player in a tied measurement group.

Fullback · Reggie Gilliam — 34 inches

Height: 6′0″ · Arm length: 34″

Gilliam supplies the compact counterpoint to the towering linemen. At a listed 6 feet, he has 34-inch arms—the same measurement would hardly look out of place on a much taller blocker.

He played tight end at Toledo before entering the NFL with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in 2020. His work at fullback makes him eligible here, and his measurement gives this position a leader who is compact rather than towering.

The 34-inch figure comes from his pre-draft workout record, rather than an NFL Combine appearance. Toledo’s account of his Buffalo signing

Wide receiver · Dallas Baker — 36½ inches

Height: 6′3″ · Arm length: 36½″

Dallas Baker caught one NFL pass for six yards. His arms are listed at 36½ inches.

Pittsburgh drafted him in the seventh round in 2007. He reached the active roster the following year and appeared in eight games, recording one reception. That brief career still clears our regular-season requirement.

At 36½ inches, Baker’s arms are the longest receiver measurement in our dataset. Long arms can expand a receiver’s potential catching area. Baker’s one-catch career gives the number its unexpected contrast.

Measurement note: Our verified file and NFL.com list 36½″; MockDraftable lists 35⅞″. We retain 36½″ because it is the value in our verified file and an explicit NFL profile listing. The original event behind that public listing has not been identified; the conflicting 35⅞″ figure remains relevant. This is an NFL-listed selection, not a claimed combine record. Pittsburgh’s account of his NFL appearances

Tight end · Donald Parham Jr. — 36⅛ inches

Height: 6′8″ · Arm length: 36⅛″

Parham combines a towering frame with arms that extend past 36 inches. His reported Senior Bowl measurement makes him our tight-end selection.

His route into the league helps explain why a combine-only search could overlook him. Parham went undrafted out of Stetson in 2019, spent time with Detroit and Washington, and played for the XFL’s Dallas Renegades before joining the Chargers in 2020.

He subsequently appeared in 47 NFL regular-season games for Los Angeles from 2020 through 2023, including 23 starts. His height and arm length made him an unusually large receiving target, particularly on high throws and contested catches.

Also measured: Mo Alie-Cox, at a reported 35⅞ inches. Chargers signing announcement

Offensive tackle · Alex Barron — 37¾ inches

Height: 6′8″ · Arm length: 37¾″

Barron’s 37¾-inch arms put him near the very top of our entire dataset. Even among offensive tackles, where long arms are common, this is an extreme measurement.

The former first-round pick spent most of his NFL career with the Rams. His frame offered the possibility of meeting a pass rusher before the defender reached his chest, although maintaining that separation also depends on footwork, timing and hand placement.

Reported tie: Alejandro Villanueva has also been credited with 37¾-inch arms. The linked secondary analysis reports that tie, but we could not trace it to an original measurement record. Barron remains our featured selection because his 37¾″ figure is retained in our verified file. Discussion of the reported Villanueva tie

Offensive guard · Stephon Heyer — 36⅞ inches

Height: 6′6″ · Arm length: 36⅞″

Heyer almost slipped through this comparison because he is usually identified as an offensive tackle. His NFL work included guard, too.

Oakland’s official game notes confirm that he started at left guard against San Diego on November 10, 2011. That documented appearance qualifies him for this category, where his 36⅞-inch figure is ⅛″ longer than D. J. Fluker’s 36¾″ in the published records. That narrow recorded margin carries the event-to-event caveat described above.

Also measured: D. J. Fluker — 36¾ inches. Raiders game notes

Center · Khaled Holmes — 35 inches

Height: 6′3″ · Arm length: 35″

Holmes brings unusually long arms to the middle of the offensive line. His 35-inch arms are documented in contemporary 2013 combine coverage and his NFL profile.

Indianapolis selected the USC center in the fourth round that year. Unlike a tackle protecting the edge of the pocket, a center begins each play handling the snap before engaging defenders in a much tighter space. That makes Holmes an interesting example of the same physical trait appearing in a different blocking environment.

Reported tie: A historical RAS measurements table lists Eric Ghiaciuc at 35 inches. Holmes receives the featured entry because his figure has clearer contemporary corroboration. Colts draft announcement

Defense

Defensive end · Jon Harris — 38½ inches

Height: 6′7″ · Arm length: 38½″

Harris has the longest arms in this entire lineup. His 38½-inch measurement sits three-quarters of an inch beyond Alex Barron’s already remarkable figure.

Philadelphia selected him 25th overall in the 1997 draft. His regular-season career amounted to 24 games and two sacks. The measurement extends beyond even the longest-armed tackles in our dataset.

For a defensive end, that length can help create separation from a blocker and keep a route to the ball available.

Also measured: Clifton Geathers — 37¾ inches.

Defensive tackle · Antonio Anderson — 37¾ inches

Height: 6′6″ · Arm length: 37¾″

Anderson matches Barron’s arm length while qualifying on the interior of the defensive line. He played for Dallas during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

At defensive tackle, the confrontation begins almost immediately. Long arms can help a defender establish contact, separate from a guard and work toward the ball, but those movements still require strength and sound positioning.

Anderson’s NFL stay lasted only two seasons. His place here comes from a measurement that remains exceptional even in a group filled with unusually large athletes.

Linebacker · Eric Ogbogu — 36¼ inches

Height: 6′4″ · Arm length: 36¼″

Ogbogu is another player whose position history changes the result. Although commonly described as a defensive end, he also worked at outside linebacker for Dallas. The Cowboys’ own coverage documented his move to linebacker during their transition to a 3–4 defense in 2005.

That makes his 36¼-inch measurement eligible here. He brings defensive-line arm length into a role that can also require standing up, moving in space and handling responsibilities beyond rushing the passer.

Eligibility note: Mike Onuoha’s reported 36½″ is longer, but his Baltimore signing has not been followed here by an established NFL regular-season appearance. He is excluded.

Cowboys coverage of the position change

Cornerback · Simeon Thomas — 35¼ inches

Height: 6′3″ · Arm length: 35¼″

Thomas is the cornerback who escapes a straightforward combine-record search. His reported pre-draft measurement of 35¼ inches exceeds the figures attached to several better-known long-armed corners.

Contemporary scouting coverage reproduced that figure, while reporting on his move to Seattle described him more generally as a corner with 35-inch arms. He later appeared in 12 regular-season games for Washington in 2019.

His dimensions fit the appeal of a long press corner: long arms can help a defender make contact and contest the catch point. Staying attached to a receiver still requires the movement skills and technique to arrive there.

Contemporary scouting report

Safety · Deiondre’ Hall — 34¾ inches

Height: 6′2″ · Arm length: 34¾″

Hall’s reported 34¾-inch measurement drew attention during Senior Bowl week in 2016. Kansas City’s official coverage highlighted both his arm length and an 82⅜-inch wingspan.

He entered the NFL as a cornerback before moving to safety. Philadelphia explicitly identified him as a safety when acquiring him from Chicago in 2018, establishing his eligibility for this category.

Measurement note: Hall’s combine measurement was 34⅜ inches. His selection here uses the longer Senior Bowl figure, an identified event measurement documented in contemporary Chiefs coverage. Our rules accept supported all-star-event measurements alongside combine results. George Iloka measured 34½ inches and would lead that comparison if we restricted it to combine measurements.

Chiefs’ Senior Bowl reporting

Specialists

Kicker · Marshall Koehn — 32¼ inches

Height: 6′0″ · Arm length: 32¼″

Koehn has the shortest measurement among our positional leaders. His 32¼-inch arms put him at the top of the kicker measurements we located, even though the lineup contains much longer measurements elsewhere.

His NFL regular-season career was brief enough to miss. He appeared in one game for Cincinnati in 2017 and made his lone extra-point attempt, satisfying the same participation requirement applied throughout this article.

NFL measurement profile

Punter · Ethan Evans — 34⅞ inches

Height: 6′3″ · Arm length: 34⅞″

Evans’ reported 34⅞-inch arms are longer than those of our featured running back, fullback and safety. His pro-day figure sits just ⅛″ below Manuel’s published quarterback measurement—a near match across different records, rather than evidence of a meaningful physical gap.

The Rams selected the Wingate punter in the seventh round in 2023. PFF’s pro-day tracker lists the measurement used here, along with a height of 6′3½″.

Measurement note: His Shrine Bowl measurement was 34⅜ inches. Even that shorter figure exceeds the 33¼-inch measurements published for J.K. Scott, Bryan Anger and Drue Chrisman. Evans leads those comparisons under either figure. An isolated 35⅞″ secondary report has not been established by an identifiable measurement record; it does not replace the supported figure used here.

PFF pro-day tracker

Long snapper · Zak DeOssie — 35½ inches

Height: 6′4″ · Arm length: 35½″

One of the least visible positions supplies one of the most surprising measurements. NFL.com lists DeOssie’s arms at 35½ inches, longer than Manuel’s and Evans’.

He spent 13 seasons as the Giants’ long snapper and won two Super Bowls. His place in this lineup is attached to a substantial NFL career performing a specialized job that receives little attention when it goes smoothly.

Measurement note: The 35½-inch figure comes directly from his NFL profile. We have not identified the original measurement event, so it should be described as an NFL-listed figure rather than specifically a combine result.

NFLPA career interview

What this lineup reveals

Baker caught one NFL pass. DeOssie spent 13 seasons doing a job most viewers notice only when it goes wrong. Both possessed extraordinary arms. The distance between their careers is the part a tape measure cannot capture.

The best NFL player at every arm length approaches that distinction from the other direction: measurements determine the groups, but career achievement decides who wins them.

Sources & Method

This feature combines Rare Athlete Lab’s verified measurement file with the linked NFL profiles, contemporary event reporting and team records. Eligibility depends on documented regular-season participation at the credited position. Measurements from different events remain identified where they affect the comparison; this is the longest documented lineup found in the research, with incomplete historical coverage.