Source: SportingNews.com
The most recognizable activity at the Combine each year, the marquee event is meant to show players' top-end speed. Starting from a stationary position, players' 40 times give an indication of their speed from a stand-still.
While many are critical of the 40’s value in evaluation, it does matter. It’s easily replicable and comparable across all athletes, thereby giving a uniform measure to evaluate speed. For offensive and defensive linemen, merely looking the part of an NFL athlete can have more value than the actual time, and running under a 5.3 as a lineman serves as a strong benchmark in evaluations.
More important, the timed 10-yard and 20-yard splits can be more indicative of NFL success. The 10-yard splits can indicate a receiver’s initial burst off the line (often the most important skill for a receiver’s translation to the pro game), a running back's initial speed at the hand-off point, a pass-rusher’s first-step quickness and explosiveness and a defensive back’s turn-and-run burst to stay tight, balanced and controlled against vertical threats.
Below are the NFL prospect's top 40 times since 2006. And we're currently growing the most comprehensive leader board of 40 yard dash times and the other most important combine metrics. The results can be found on the Hero Fuel Y1ACT Leaderboard.
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