The rookie prospects who were invited to work out in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine were given a choice: become a part of the hyper-commercialized spectacle and run the 40-yard dash or be subjugated to discontented murmuring from fans and fantasy football analysts online. For some positions, the 40 is wholly unnecessary or not indicative of the “play speed” a player might have. For others, it’s a way to show how much track and field training a guy went through after he played his last snap of college football. Either way, watching some of the best athletes in the world run as fast as they can get us buzzing like cicadas.
The fastest official 40-yard dash at the Combine was Washington’s John Ross’ 4.22-second scamper in 2017. Before him was East Carolina’s Chris Johnson with a blazing 4.24 in 2008. For those nine years between and now five years after, every NFL prospect to ever garner the nickname “Speedy” has been gunning to put his name at the top of that list.
The rookie class of 2022 proved to be the fastest class in Combine history as a whole. Here are the fastest players by position to run the 40 this year. All times are official.
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Quarterback
Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati): 4.52 seconds
*note: Malik Willis of Liberty did not run this week, opting instead to run at his pro day.
Running Back
Pierre Strong Jr. (South Dakota State): 4.37 seconds
Isiah Pacheco (Rutgers): 4.37 seconds
Ty Chandler (North Carolina): 4.38 seconds
Kenneth Walker III (Michigan State): 4.38 seconds
D’Vonte Price (Florida International): 4.38 seconds
Breece Hall (Iowa State): 4.39 seconds
Zamir White (Georgia): 4.40 seconds
James Cook (Georgia): 4.42 seconds
Tyler Goodson (Iowa): 4.42 seconds
Trestan Ebner (Baylor): 4.43 seconds
Wide Receiver
Tyquan Thornton (Baylor): 4.28 seconds
Velus Jones (Tennessee): 4.31 seconds
Calvin Austin III (Memphis): 4.32 seconds
Danny Gray (SMU): 4.33 seconds
Bo Melton (Rutgers): 4.34 seconds
Christian Watson (North Dakota State): 4.36 seconds
Garrett Wilson (Ohio State): 4.38 seconds
Chris Olave (Ohio State): 4.39 seconds
Alec Pierce (Cincinnati): 4.41 seconds
Skyy Moore (Western Michigan): 4.41 seconds
Tight End
Chig Okonkwo (Maryland): 4.52 seconds
Jelani Woods (Virginia): 4.61 seconds
Grant Calcaterra (SMU): 4.62 seconds
Daniel Bellinger (San Diego State): 4.63 seconds
Greg Dulcich (UCLA): 4.69 seconds
Offensive Line
Dare Rosenthal (Kentucky): 4.88 seconds
Kellen Diesch (Arizona State): 4.89 seconds
Chris Paul (Tulsa): 4.89 seconds
Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa): 4.89 seconds
Cam Jurgens (Nebraska): 4.92 seconds
Abraham Lucas (Washington): 4.92 seconds
Ikem Ekwonu (NC State): 4.93 seconds
Dylan Parham (Memphis): 4.93 seconds
Zach Tom (Wake Forest): 4.94 seconds
Charles Cross (Mississippi State): 4.95 seconds
Defensive End
Amaré Barno (Virginia Tech): 4.36 seconds
Sam Williams (Mississippi): 4.46 seconds
Travon Walker (Georgia): 4.51 seconds
Boye Mafe (Minnesota): 4.53 seconds
Nik Bonitto (Oklahoma): 4.54 seconds
David Ojabo (Michigan): 4.55 seconds
Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon): 4.58 seconds
Jermaine Johnson II (Florida State): 4.58 seconds
Defensive Tackle
Devonte Wyatt (Georgia): 4.77 seconds
Jordan Davis (Georgia): 4.78 seconds
Linebacker
Troy Andersen (Montana State): 4.42 seconds
Christian Harris (Alabama): 4.44 seconds
Channing Tindall (Georgia): 4.47 seconds
Cornerback
Kalon Barnes (Baylor): 4.23 seconds (fastest time by a defensive player in combine history)
Tariq Woolen (Texas-San Antonio): 4.26 seconds
Zyon McCollum (Sam Houston State): 4.33 seconds
Alontae Taylor (Tennessee): 4.36 seconds
Cobie Durant (South Carolina State): 4.38 seconds
Tariq Castro-Fields (Penn State): 4.38 seconds
Cam Taylor-Britt (Nebraska): 4.38 seconds
Damarri Mathis (Pittsburgh): 4.39 seconds
Jalyn Armour-Davis (Alabama): 4.39 seconds
Kaiir Elam (Florida): 4.39 seconds
Josh Thompson (Texas): 4.40 seconds
Ahmad Gardner (Cincinnati): 4.41 seconds
Isaac Taylor-Stuart (USC): 4.42 seconds
Trent McDuffie (Washington): 4.44 seconds
Safety
Nick Cross (Maryland): 4.34 seconds
Percy Butler (Louisiana): 4.36 seconds
JT Woods (Baylor): 4.36 seconds
Tycen Anderson (Toledo): 4.36 seconds
Lewis Cine (Georgia): 4.37 seconds
Dax Hill (Michigan): 4.38 seconds
Markquese Bell (Florida A&M): 4.41 seconds
Dane Belton (Iowa): 4.43 seconds
Reaction
All in all, 31 prospects ran faster than 4.40. This is by far the most of any class since the modern Combine started tracking this data in 2003. The average 40 time was also a record low of 4.71 seconds.
The Matt Rhule track-and-field pipeline at Baylor is still alive and well. The boys from Waco put forth a dazzling spectacle of speed.
The same can be said for the legendary defensive front seven from Georgia. The National Champions put forth an impressive array of athletes, most notably the monstrous Jordan Davis. Not only did Davis send every jaw into a free fall with his 4.78 40, but his 10’3″ broad jump was also the best by any player over 300 pounds in combine history (he weighed in at 341).
Despite some controversy about the vast differences between the unofficial and official 40 times this week, it was wholly enjoyable. The fastest players might not be the best players on Sundays, but the NFL product will remain bulletproof as long as prodigious athletes continue to pour into the league every year.
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