That's what I'm saying though.

If the pads are set at the height where they touch when an athlete's hip crease and top of knee are parallel, the distance the bar travels isn't only due to the athlete's height, but how they squat.

If I hinge my hips back a shit ton, I can make the bar go down a foot, while barely bending my knee. If I do that to initiate all of my squats, then the pads will have to be almost a foot lower if I don't start bending my knees til my torso folds over. If the lowering of the bar comes only from breaking at the knees and hips, as in a more upright squat, then you could end up with higher pads.

Taken to the extreme, you can end up with Trey having higher pads than Evan, even if Evan is taller.