With each passing year, college players get bigger, stronger, and faster and go on to break records at NFL scouting combine.
But, there is one mark anyone has yet to reach: the four-second 40-yard dash.
Some have come close.
Chris Johnson ran a 4.24 40 in 2008, a record which stood until wide receiver John Ross broke it with a 4.22 in 2017.
As a result of those blistering 40 times, both players saw their draft stock improve and were picked higher than had originally been anticipated.
Another player’s stock may rise this year if they are able to beat Johnson or Ross’ time. And that could happen as 40 times are dropping each year.
From 1988 to 1998 just 18 players ran a sub-4.4 40. At the 2018 combine alone, there were 12.
World-class sprinter Corey Coleman, who ran a 9.79 100-meter sprint in Brussels last year, ran a 4.12 40 without even training for it. He does see someone breaking the four-second threshold at some point .
“It’s not a crazy thought that in a few years someone finally does it,” he said/ “It would just have to be someone either blessed with world-class speed or a really good track guy who also plays football. I’ve been around a lot of football guys, and while those guys are fast, there’s a big difference between football speed and track speed. The fast track guys are just on a different level when it comes to speed. But if you got someone who was a true hybrid from both of those worlds, then watch out.”
Tune in this weekend to see if someone breaks the 4.0 threshold earlier than expected.
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