What I've shown in my picture is 15 7/8 in total length, end to end. The wires will not pull up tight against the drum head as the metal ends are hitting the bottom rim.

I'm not sure what you mean because the cutout on the hoop falls well above the bearing edge of the drum. If you look at the first pic I posted of the red sparkle drum you can clearly see where the hoop is in relation to the bearing edge so that the metal tab could not possibly touch the hoop/rim. Yours should look the same which it appears to be in the pic that you posted.