When you think of the NFL, you probably picture giants. Massive men with 300-pound frames or 6-foot-5 receivers who can leap over a minivan. But honestly, the gridiron has always had room for the "little guys," even if that term feels like a bit of an understatement here. If you’ve ever wondered who the shortest NFL player is, the answer depends on whether you're looking at today’s roster or the dusty history books of the 1920s.
Size matters in football, but it isn't everything. Some of the most electrifying plays in league history came from guys who had to look up at almost everyone else in the huddle.
The All-Time Record: Jack Shapiro
The undisputed king of this list is a man named Jack Shapiro. He was tiny. We are talking 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
Back in 1929, Shapiro suited up for the Staten Island Stapletons. He only played one official game, but that was enough to cement his name in the Guinness World Records. Imagine being 5-foot-1 and weighing roughly 119 pounds, then trying to block guys twice your size. He did it. He even rushed for seven yards and returned a punt for 12 more.
His story is kinda wild. Shapiro actually forged his father’s signature just to play football in high school because his dad was terrified he’d get crushed. Decades later, the NFL Alumni association gave him an award for outstanding achievement. He lived to be 93, proving that being the shortest NFL player ever didn’t stop him from having a long, full life.
Who holds the title in the modern era?
Moving into the "modern" game—where athletes are essentially lab-grown super-soldiers—the height floor has shifted. For a long time, the benchmark for "shortest" was 5 feet, 5 inches.
Trindon Holliday: The Speed Demon
If you watched the Denver Broncos around 2012 or 2013, you remember Trindon Holliday. He was 5-foot-5 and pure lightning. Holliday holds a very specific piece of NFL history: he’s the first player to return both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in a single postseason game.
He was so small that defenders often lost him behind the offensive line. By the time they saw him, he was already twenty yards downfield. Speed was his equalizer. He ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the combine, which is basically moving at warp speed for someone that size.
Deuce Vaughn: The Current Fan Favorite
As of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the conversation usually circles back to Deuce Vaughn. Standing at 5 feet, 5 inches (or 5-foot-6 depending on which team sheet you trust), Vaughn became a viral sensation the moment the Dallas Cowboys drafted him.
Watching him play is fascinating. He looks like a glitch in the Matrix. When he disappears into a pile of linemen, you assume the play is over, only for him to squirt out the other side for a first down. His height is actually a tactical advantage because linebackers literally cannot see him until it’s too late. He’s currently with the Denver Broncos organization, trying to carve out a permanent role in a league that still favors the tall.
Why are there so many short running backs?
You’ll notice a pattern. Most of these guys are running backs or return specialists. There’s a reason for that.
- Low center of gravity: It is incredibly hard to tackle a guy who is already closer to the ground than you are.
- The "Hide and Seek" factor: If you’re a 6-foot-4 linebacker, you’re looking over the heads of your own linemen. A 5-foot-6 running back can hide in those gaps perfectly.
- Change of direction: Physics is a thing. Smaller bodies can usually stop, start, and pivot much faster than a guy who weighs 250 pounds.
Take Darren Sproles, for example. He was 5-foot-6. He didn't just "survive" the NFL; he dominated it for 15 seasons. He finished his career with the fifth-most all-purpose yards in league history. If he had been 6-foot-2, he might not have been as good because he would have lost that signature "Mighty Mouse" leverage.
Shortest Quarterbacks: The New Wave
Quarterbacks are supposed to be tall. At least, that's what scouts said for fifty years. They claimed you needed to be 6-foot-3 to see over the "trees" (the offensive line).
Then came Kyler Murray and Bryce Young.
Both were measured at roughly 5 feet, 10 inches at the NFL Scouting Combine. In the world of NFL QBs, that’s considered "short." Critics thought they’d have every pass swatted down at the line of scrimmage. They haven't. They’ve proven that mobility and quick release times matter more than being able to see over a tackle's shoulder.
The Reality of the "Short" Label
Being the shortest NFL player isn't just a fun trivia fact. It’s a badge of resilience. For every Jack Shapiro or Deuce Vaughn who makes a roster, there are thousands of talented players who were told "no" because they didn't meet a height requirement on a scout's clipboard.
When we talk about height in the NFL, we're really talking about outliers. These guys aren't just "short for the NFL"—they’re often shorter than the average American male, yet they are competing against the top 0.1% of athletes on the planet.
How to scout for talent over size
If you're a coach or just a die-hard fan trying to spot the next "short" superstar, stop looking at the height column. Look at these three things instead:
- Contact Balance: Does the player fall over the moment they're touched, or do they bounce off hits? Short players with "heavy" lower bodies are nearly impossible to bring down one-on-one.
- 10-Yard Split: In the NFL, top-end speed is great, but the first ten yards are everything. If a shorter player can hit top speed in three steps, they’ll beat a taller, slower-accelerating defender every time.
- Catch Radius: A short player with long arms can play "taller" than they actually are.
The next time you see a player like J.J. Taylor or Blake Grupe (a 5-foot-7 kicker who has been solid for the Saints) on your screen, remember that they had to work twice as hard to get there. The NFL might be a big man’s game, but the small guys are the ones who usually make it worth watching.
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To really understand the impact of these players, start paying attention to "all-purpose yardage" stats rather than just touchdowns. You'll often find that the shortest players are the ones doing the dirty work—returning punts, catching screens, and grinding out those tough three-yard gains that keep drives alive.