40-yard dash

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The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering 40 yards (36.576 m). It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can heavily impact his prospects in college or the pros. This was traditionally only true for the 'skill' positions such as running back, wide receiver, and defensive back, although now a fast 40-yard dash time is considered important for almost every position.

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[edit] Timing Method

The method of timing a 40 yard sprint can affect the accuracy by up to 0.52 seconds (with the manual stopwatch method). The best methods of timing are lasers which start and stop the times when passed through. A laser start (from a stationary position) is better because the only factors measured are speed and power, not reaction time.

[edit] Best times

Many reported times are unreliable due to differences in timing methods if not intentional falsifications. The NFL did not begin using partial electronic timing (started by hand, stopped electronically) at the Scouting Combine until 1990.

In track and field races, the runner must react to the starting gun, which can take 0.10 to 0.20 seconds. For electronically timed 40 yard dashes, the runner is allowed to start when he wishes, and a timer hand-starts the clock.

Although the 40-yard dash is not an official race in track and field, the 60 meter dash is an official distance in indoor track and field, with the world record for that race being 6.39 seconds (run twice by Maurice Greene, and once by Ben Johnson, whose record was annulled for an unofficial Steroid test). The fastest 60m split time is probably 6.32 seconds by Asafa Powell, in his 9.74 second 100m World Record run in Rieti, Italy. Fast starting elite sprinters such as Powell (and others past and present) can run a "Football 40" close to 4 seconds, because the sprinter does not have to react to the sound of the gun, and the starter has to react to their movement before the clock starts. In the 2001 World Championship 100m final in Edmonton, Greene covered 30m in 3.75 seconds running time and 40m in 4.64 seconds running time, putting his 40 yard (36.576m) running time at about 4.24 seconds. Given a hypothetical timer's reaction time to Greene's motion, Greene's "Football 40" time for this race would have been between 4.00 and 4.14 seconds.

There actually is no single, "official" 40 time at the NFL Combine. National Scouting, which runs the combine, provides three times per run, two fully hand-held and one stopped electronically. Each player may run twice, thereby yielding a potential six times. National Scouting provides all six of these times to NFL teams. The teams then do what they want with those times, or ignore them. Some teams use the best electronic time. Some teams throw out the fastest and slowest and average the rest. Some teams use the best time provided. And some teams use a time provided by their own scout on site.

In 1986, Darrell Green of the Washington Redskins ran the 40 in 4.25 seconds. Although the results were unofficial, it is widely accepted to be one of the fastest legitimate times ever recorded by an NFL player. [1]

[edit] Criticisms

Some football analysts claim that the 40-yard dash is poorly correlated with football ability, as most players seldom are required to sprint this distance in a game. It has been said as well that 40 times are not a good indicator of 'football speed,' or how fast a player will actually seem when running while wearing a full uniform (including pads) on a football field, rather than a track, and in the presence of opposing players.

Many players have gone on to have stellar NFL careers after recording a "disappointing" 40 time -- for example:

  • Jerry Rice reportedly ran a 4.7 second 40-yard dash (regarded as a mediocre figures for a wide receiver).[1] He went on to play in 13 Pro Bowls, win 3 Super Bowls, and break numerous NFL receiving records NFL records (at the time of his retirement he had 28 NFL records). Said former teammate Ronnie Lott, "Jerry may have been a 4.6 or a 4.7, but he was a 4.2 on Sundays." Rice was also generally noted for being able to run as fast a 40-yard dash under the weight of heavy NFL padding as he could in track gear.
  • Emmitt Smith's best reported time in the 40 was said to be 4.8 seconds, and at his rookie combine was said to have run 4.71, normally considered slow for a running back. Despite his record-breaking college career, he was selected 17th in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Smith went on to become the NFL's all time leading rusher and won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys.

Nevertheless, in many cases players who have recorded slow 40 times at the NFL Combine have gone on to perform poorly in the NFL, whose players are largely faster than those in college football.

[edit] Successful fast times

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Many players with incredible "reported" times have also done amazing things in the NFL, for example: Darrell Green ran an unofficial 4.09 40 yard dash in training camp in 1986 for the Washington Redskins. He is considered by many as one of the best corners of all time. Many see him as the fastest man in NFL history. Green won each of the four NFL's Fastest Man competitions in which he participated, making him the only undefeated competitor in history to participate in the competition more than once.

  • Randy Moss, a wide receiver currently playing for the New England Patriots, ran a 4.25 second 40 yard dash, In high school there were rumors he ran a 4.13 but there is no proof of this.[2] Moss currently holds the rookie TD reception record with 17 and the single-season TD reception record with 23.
  • Deion Sanders, ran a 4.23 40 yard dash, and he had a very successful career as a cornerback in the NFL.
  • Devin Hester ran a disappointing 4.45 40 at the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine, but commented recently that "My best time was a 4.27 at my Pro Day." He is now considered one of the best kick returners in NFL history and holds numerous return records.[citation needed] In 2007, the popular "Madden Football" video game franchise announced that Hester would be the first player ever to receive a speed rating of 100 in "Madden '08". No one had ever been rated above 99 for the category of speed.
  • Reggie Bush ran a 4.33, in 2006,[citation needed] he was the only rookie and the only running back to score a rushing TD and punt return TD. He also led the rookie running backs in receiving and set the NFL record for most catches by a NFL rookie running back
  • Heisman Trophy winner, Herschel Walker was said to have run a 4.25 (hand-timed) also for the Dallas Cowboys.[citation needed] He was a notable sprinter who also ran in the Olympic Trials.
  • Darren McFadden from Arkansas ran an official 4.33[3], at the NFL Combine on February 24, 2008.
  • Tyvon Branch a Cornerback from Uconn Ran a 4.31 at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine (He had the second fastest overall time at the combine, second only Chris Johnson)
  • Chris Johnson from East Carolina ran a 4.24 at the NFL Combine on February 24, 2008.
  • Dan Morgan III Freshman at the University of Miami ran a 4.11 when scouts came to his High School in Des Moines Iowa
  • Dexter Jackson from Appalachian State ran an unofficial 4.27 (officially 4.37[4]) at the NFL Combine on February 24, 2008.
  • Michael Bennett ran a 4.13 40 at his pro day - currently the fast timed 40 ever for the NFL and has a tattoo of it on his leg to commemorate it.
  • Bo Jackson from Auburn ran a 4.12 at the Super dome.


The Fastest Players in the NFL include the following.

  1. Michael Bennett ( 4.13 @ Wisconsin pro day)
  2. Laveranues Coles (4.16 @ Florida State University, 4.29 @ Jets Media Guide)[5]
  3. Ahman Green (4.17 @ Pre-Draft Workout in Nebraska)[5]
  4. Donte Stallworth (4.22 @ 2003 Tennessee Pro Day)[5]
  5. Willie Parker (4.23 @ 2004 North Carolina Pro Day)[5]
  6. Randy Moss (4.25 @ Marshall University)[5]
  7. Champ Bailey (4.28 @ 1999 NFL Combine)[5]
  8. Devin Hester (4.311 and a 4.38 @ Miami Pro Day, 4.45 @ 2006 NFL Combine, 100 speed in Madden 08)[5]
  9. Reggie Bush (4.33 @ University of Southern California at Pro Day 2006)[5]
  10. Thad Beversdorf (4.20 @ Newedge summer camp)[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rice was fast enough for 20-year career. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  2. ^ Carter, Bob. "Moves, emotions have Moss causin' a commotion", ESPN Classic. Retrieved on 2007-02-22. 
  3. ^ NFL Events: Combine Top Performers
  4. ^ NFL Events: Combine Top Performers
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i NFL40YardDash.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.