Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry has urged the franchise not to be put off by Chris Banjo's height.
Banjo stands at 5'10", making him shorter than the usual guidelines that the Packers use when choosing defensive backs.
However, Perry believes that each player should be judged on their ability rather than anything else, and pointed to an example set by the similarly-sized Troy Polamalu, who has forged a highly-successful career at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"There's a pretty good guy in Pittsburgh that's had a Hall of Fame career, and he wouldn't have met our height requirements probably at the safety spot. He's only about 5-10, if that. He's barely 5-10," Perry is quoted as saying by ESPN.
"I guess [Banjo] doesn't quite meet the Mendoza line for some of the requirements that they've had here in terms of defensive backs, but I think sometimes you've got to look beyond that and look at the player's ability and what he can do on the football field.
"That's something that you have to be careful of not getting too caught up in."
Banjo joined the Packers this summer having spent three months with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released.
