NFL Combine 2014 Results: Tracking Every 40-Yard Dash Time

There is more to the game of football than just speed, but those who run faster than everyone else certainly have an advantage. With that in mind, the 40-yard dash is the marquee workout at the NFL Scouting Combine on a yearly basis.

Many players have improved their draft stock significantly with blazing-fast dashes over the years, while just as many have seen their value plummet with poor times.

With on-field workouts beginning on Feb. 22, the bulk of the talk surrounding the combine will undoubtedly focus on 40 times in the coming days.

There are even some interesting 40-yard dash subplots worth tracking, including Adidas' promise that the fastest runner wearing Adidas products will win a cool $100,000, according to Tim Newcomb of SI.com.

The 40-yard dash is so important that many of the prospects go through special training regimens to shave time off their runs. Strength and conditioning coach Ryan Flaherty is an expert in that area, and while he admits that the 40 isn't the be-all, end-all, he fully understands what a good 40 time means to these prospects, per Anahad O'Connor of The New York Times.

"Every team is going to be there to watch these guys work out and to see how fast they can run and how high they can jump," Flaherty said. "It's kind of a dog-and-pony show. But you have to do it."

With that in mind, here is a full listing of every prospect taking part in the combine. As their 40 times become available, this slideshow will be updated to reflect how the prospective draftees fared.

All prospects and 40 times courtesy of NFL.com.

Safeties

The safety position is one of the most vital to an NFL defense. Whether it’s playing a role in coverage or jumping up to stop the run, these defenders have to be fast and strong.

Here is how the best safeties in the nation handled the combine’s 40-yard dash:

Player	School	Best 40 (secs)
Terrence Brooks	Florida State	4.42
Brock Vereen	Minnesota	4.47
Deone Bucannon	Washington State	4.49
Marqueston Huff	Wyoming	4.49
Johnathan Dowling	Western Kentucky	4.52
Mo Alexander	Utah State	4.54
Ed Reynolds	Stanford	4.57
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	Alabama	4.58
Calvin Pryor	Louisville	4.58
Tre Boston	North Carolina	4.59
Isaiah Lewis	Michigan State	4.60
Ahmad Dixon	Baylor	4.64
Craig Loston	LSU	4.65
Dion Bailey	USC	4.66
Daniel Sorenson	BYU	4.67
Kenny Ladler	Vanderbilt	4.70
Nat Berhe	San Diego State	4.71

Defensive Backs

The defensive backs are always one of the main focuses of franchise across the league due to the high volume of passing plays in the NFL.

With stars like Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert and TCU’s Jason Verrett getting their first chance to show what skills they possess, here is how all the DBs 40-yard dash times shook out:

Player	School	Best 40 (secs)
Justin Gilbert	Oklahoma State	4.37
Phillip Gaines	Rice	4.38
Jason Verrett	TCU	4.38
Bradley Roby	Ohio State	4.39
Brandon Dixon	Northwest Missouri St.	4.41
Jaylen Watkins	Florida	4.41
Kendall James	Maine	4.44
Dontae Johnson	N.C. State	4.45
Jabari Prince	North Carolina	4.45
Nevin Lawson	Utah State	4.48
Kyle Fuller	Virgina Tech	4.49
Andre Hal	Vanderbilt	4.50
Darqueze Dennard	Michigan State	4.51
Bennett Jackson	Notre Dame	4.51
Keith McGill	Utah	4.51
Rashaad Reynolds	Oregon State	4.51
Demetri Goodson	Baylor	4.52
Lamarcus Joyner	Florida State	4.55
Jemea Thomas	Georgia tech	4.55
Ross Cockrell	Duke	4.56
Pierre Desir	Lindenwood	4.59
Antone Exum	Virginia Tech	4.59
Ricardo Allen	Purdue	4.61
Stanley Jean-Baptiste	Nebraska	4.61
Loucheiz Purifoy	Florida	4.61
Marcus Roberson	Florida	4.61
Bashaud Breeland	Clemson	4.62
Bene Benwikere	San Jose State	4.63
Terrance Mitchell	Oregon	4.63
Lavelle Westbrooks	Georgia Southern	4.63
Victor Hampton	South Carolina	4.69

Linebackers

In a pass happy league like the NFL, the serious need for elite outside linebackers has a premium on players at that position.

Add in the necessity for reliable run stoppers that can clog the middle and drop into coverage when needed, and there is a major focus from scouts on this position group.

This is how Buffalo’s Khalil Mack, UCLA’s Anthony Barr and the rest of the linebackers performed:

Player	School	Best Time (secs)
Kevin Pierre-Louis	Boston College	4.51
Telvin Smith	Florida State	4.52
Lamin Barrow	LSU	4.64
Khalil Mack	Buffalo	4.65
Ronald Powell	Florida	4.65
Anthony Barr	UCLA	4.66
Boseko Lokombo	Oregon	4.66
Avery Williamson	Kentucky	4.66
Jordan Tripp	Montana	4.67
Adrian Hubbard	Alabama	4.69
Khairi Fortt	California	4.70
Devon Kennard	USC	4.70
Prince Shembo	Notre Dame	4.71
Kyle Van Noy	BYU	4.71
Anthony Hitchens	Iowa	4.74
Christian Jones	Florida State	4.74
Carl Bradford	Arizona State	4.76
Jordan Zumwalt	UCLA	4.76
Max Bullough	Michigan State	4.78
James Morris	Iowa	4.80
Chris Borland	Wisconsin	4.83
Preston Brown	Louisville	4.86
Trent Murphy	Stanford	4.86
Jeremiah George	Iowa State	4.91
Tyler Starr	South Dakota	4.95
Yawin Smallwood	Connecticut	5.01
Jonathan Brown	Illinois	5.03

Defensive Linemen

NFL football is won and lost in the trenches, and there is a serious focus from scouts across the league on the 40-yard dash times from the defensive linemen.

While there are several big names who hit the field on Monday, few have the fanfare surrounding them that South Carolina Gamecocks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has with his lofty expectations.

Here is how Clowney and the other D-Linemen performed:

Player	School	Best 40 (secs)
Jadeveon Clowney	South Carolina	4.47
Chris Smith	Arkansas	4.54
Howard Jones	Shepherd	4.57
James Gayle	Virginia Tech	4.60
Jackson Jeffcoat	Texas	4.60
Larry Webster	Bloomsburg	4.60
Marcus Smith	Louisville	4.63
Aaron Donald	Pittsburgh	4.65
Kareem Martin	North Carolina	4.68
Kasim Edebali	Boston College	4.69
Jonathan Newsome	Ball State	4.69
Will Clarke	West Virginia	4.72
Demarcus Lawrence	Boise State	4.72
Scott Crichton	Oregon State	4.78
Michael Sam	Missouri	4.79
Zach Moore	Concordia (MN	4.82
Kony Ealy	Missouri	4.84
Ethan Westbrooks	West Texas A&M	4.85
George Uko	USC	4.88
Cassius Marsh	UCLA	4.89
IK Enemkpali	Louisiana Tech	4.90
Caraun Reid	Princeton	4.90
Jason Bromley	Syracuse	4.93
Timmy Jernigan	Florida State	4.93
Tenny Palepoi	Utah	4.94
Khyri Thornton	Southern Miss	4.94
Tevin Mims	South Florida	4.95
Ra'Shede Hageman	Minnesota	4.97
Kerry Hyder	Texas Tech	4.97
Kelcy Quarles	South Carolina	5.00
Kerry Wynn	Richmond	5.00
Zachariah Kerr	Delaware	5.03
Josh Mauro	Stanford	5.11
Justin Ellis	Louisiana Tech	5.12
Eathyn Manumaleuna	BYU	5.15
Shamar Stephen	Connecticut	5.17
Mike Pennel	Colorado State-Pueblo	5.19
Anthony Johnson	LSU	5.25
DaQuan Jones	Penn State	5.28
Louis Nix	Notre Dame	5.35
Will Sutton	Arizona State	5.35
Ryan Carrethers	Arkansas State	5.44

Offensive Linemen

It's fair to say that speed isn't necessarily a prerequisite when it comes to being a great NFL offensive lineman. Most of them tip the scales at 300 pounds or more, so anything around the five-second mark in the 40-yard dash is considered important.

Being able to pull and make blocks outside the hash marks is a great asset, though, which means that talent evaluators will definitely keep an eye on how the offensive linemen run.

Player	School	Best 40
Matt Armstrong	Grand Valley St.	5.36
Joel Bitonio	Nevada	4.97
Russell Bodine	North Carolina	5.18
Conor Boffeli	Iowa	5.30
Justin Britt	Missouri	5.19
Dakota Dozier	Furman	5.42
Kadeem Edwards	Tennessee St.	5.25
Matt Feiler	Bloomsburg	5.37
Cameron Fleming	Stanford	5.28
Zach Fulton	Tennessee	5.16
Ryan Groy	Wisconsin	5.19
Jon Halapio	Florida	5.34
Jonotthan Harrison	Florida	5.15
Seantrel Henderson	Miami	5.04
James Hurst	North Carolina
Gabe Ikard	Oklahoma	5.13
Gabe Jackson	Mississippi St.	5.51
Ja'Wuan James	Tennessee	5.34
Wesley Johnson	Vanderbilt	5.11
Cyrus Kouandjio	Alabama	5.59
Tyler Larsen	Utah St.
Charles Leno, Jr.	Boise St.
Taylor Lewan	Michigan	4.87
Brandon Linder	Miami	5.35
Corey Linsley	Ohio St.
Spencer Long	Nebraska
Luke Lucas	Kansas St.
Zack Martin	Notre Dame
Marcus Martin	USC
Jake Matthews	Texas A&M	5.07
Jack Mewhort	Ohio St.	5.37
Morgan Moses	Virginia	5.35
Matthew Paradis	Boise St.	5.34
Matt Patchan	Boston College	4.97
Antonio Richardson	Tennessee	5.30
Cyril Richardson	Baylor	5.36
Weston Richburg	Colorado St.	5.10
Greg Robinson	Auburn	4.92
Michael Schofield	Michigan	5.01
Anthony Steen	Alabama
James Stone	Tennessee	5.17
Bryan Stork	Florida St.
Xavier Su'a-Filo	UCLA	5.04
Travis Swanson	Arkansas	5.28
Brandon Thomas	Clemson	5.09
Billy Turner	North Dakota St.	5.16
Trai Turner	LSU	4.93
John Urschel	Penn St.	5.31
Chris Watt	Notre Dame	5.50
David Yankey	Stanford	5.48

Tight Ends

One of the biggest changes in the NFL over the past couple decades has been the involvement of tight ends offensively. Being a good blocker used to be enough, but tight ends are now integral pass-catchers who are expected to run as well as many wide receivers.

Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers is the perfect example of a modern-day tight end, and he is viewed as the gold standard in terms of speed after his performance at the 2006 combine:

"

4.38 speed at 254 pounds?! His name is @VernonDavis85. MUST-SEE: http://t.co/k4zFMkBuKb #FlashbackFriday

— NFL (@nfl) February 21, 2014"

Having an athletic, field-stretching tight end can add another dimension to an offense, so the tight ends running at the combine have a golden opportunity to shake up the draft.

North Carolina's Eric Ebron did that by running a 4.60, although his day was cut short after pulling his hamstring in his second attempt, per Bleacher Report's Dan Hope via NFL.com:

"

Eric Ebron told http://t.co/GHvdFP18dp that he pulled his hamstring running his FIRST 40 (still ran a 4.50 unofficial on his second).

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) February 22, 2014"

Even so, it was a great performance that likely improved Ebron's stock considerably.

Player	School	Best 40
Jace Amaro	Texas Tech	4.74
Rob Blanchflower	Massachusetts
Trey Burton	Florida	4.62
Joe Don Duncan	Dixie St.	4.77
Eric Ebron	North Carolina	4.60
C.J. Fiedorowicz	Iowa	4.76
Crockett Gillmore	Colorado St.	4.89
Xavier Grimble	USC
Nic Jacobs	McNeese St.
Marcel Jensen	Fresno St.	4.85
Reggie Jordan	Missouri Western	4.77
A.C. Leonard	Tennessee St.	4.50
Colt Lyerla	Oregon	4.61
Arthur Lynch	Georgia	4.82
Jake Murphy	Utah	4.79
Jordan Najvar	Baylor	4.93
Troy Niklas	Notre Dame
Jacob Pedersen	Wisconsin	4.89
Richard Rodgers	California	4.87
Austin Seferian-Jenkins	Washington
D.J. Tialavea	Utah St.

Specialists

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Kickers, punters and long snappers aren't asked to run 40 yards down the field too often, but it does happen on occasion. Kickers and punters are the last line of defense on returns, so they do need at least a little bit of athleticism.

Also, some NFL long snappers are fantastic in kick coverage, so running a solid 40 could get the attention of scouts. Most of the focus will be simply on kicking and snapping, but running well obviously can't hurt.

Player	School	Best 40
Chris Boswell (K)	Rice
Steven Clark (P)	Auburn
Anthony Fera (K)	Texas
Zach Hocker (K)	Arkansas
Tom Hornsey (P)	Memphis
Richie Leone (P)	Houston
Cody Mandell (P)	Alabama	4.89
Pat O'Donnell (P)	Miami	4.64
Cairo Santos (K)	Tulane

Quarterbacks

The days of stationary, pocket passers seem to be quickly coming to an end in the NFL. There will always be room for guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but the quarterback position is obviously evolving. The Cam Newtons, Colin Kaepernicks, Russell Wilsons and Robert Griffins of the world are taking over, and many similar quarterbacks are poised to enter the NFL in 2014.

Dual-threat quarterbacks such as Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater are expected to be taken among the top 10 selections in the NFL draft, and their respective 40 times could be a deciding factor since they are so close in other areas.

Player	School	Best 40
Blake Bortles	Central Florida	4.93
Tajh Boyd	Clemson	4.84
David Fales	San Jose State	4.99
Derek Carr	Fresno State	4.69
Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois	4.97
Jordan Lynch	Northern Illinois	4.76
Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	4.68
Jeff Mathews	Cornell	5.26
AJ McCarron	Alabama	4.94

Stephen Morris	Miami	4.63
Bryn Renner	North Carolina	4.87
Tom Savage	Pittsburgh	4.97
Connor Shaw	South Carolina	4.66
Logan Thomas	Virginia Tech	4.61
Dustin Vaughan	West Texas A&M	4.95
Keith Wenning	Ball State	5.0

Running Backs

Although the emphasis on running backs in the NFL draft has waned in recent years, great running backs are still of the utmost importance in the NFL. No backs were taken in the first round last year, and it is entirely possible that the same will be true this year; however, those taken in the second and third round will be viewed as key players.

Kent State running back Dri Archer is hoping to improve his stock, and he intends to make some noise in the 40, according to Andy Fenelon of NFL.com.

"I'm going to break the record," Archer said.

NFL running backs have such a short shelf life that teams are looking for explosive, dynamic players whom they can ride from day one, and running well in the 40-yard dash could potentially lead to a starting job immediately.

Player	School	Best 40
Antonio Andrews	Western Kentucky	4.82
Dri Archer	Kent State	4.26
George Atkinson	Notre Dame	4.48
Kapri Bibbs	Colorado State	4.67
Alfred Blue	LSU	4.63
Ka'Deem Carey	Arizona	4.70
J.C. Copeland	LSU	4.95
Tim Cornett	UNLV	4.48
Isaiah Crowell	Alabama State	4.57

Timothy Flanders	Sam Houston State	4.75
David Fluellen	Toledo	4.72
Devonta Freeman	Florida State	4.58
Tyler Gaffney	Stanford	4.49
Ryan Hewitt	Stanford	4.87
Jeremy Hill	LSU	4.66
Carlos Hyde	Ohio State	4.66
Storm Johnson	Central Florida	4.66
Henry Josey	Missouri	4.43
Tre Mason	Auburn	4.50

Jerick McKinnon	Georgia Southern	4.41
LaDarius Perkins	Mississippi State	4.46
Silas Redd	USC	4.70
Bishop Sankey	Washington	4.49
Lache Seastrunk	Baylor	4.51
Charles Sims	West Virginia	4.48
Jerome Smith	Syracuse	4.84
Lorenzo Taliaferro	Coastal Carolina	4.58
De'Anthony Thomas	Oregon	4.50
Terrance West	Towson	4.54

James White	Wisconsin	4.57
James Wilder Jr.	Florida State	4.86
Andre Williams	Boston College	4.56
Damien Williams	Oklahoma	4.45

Wide Receivers

Perhaps no position relates to the 40-yard dash better than wide receiver. Most players don't need straight-line speed 40 yards down the field, but wide receivers run routes that require it routinely. According to Frank Cooney of CBSSports.com, receivers have run the three fastest 40s since 2000, and they occupy five of the top seven spots.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin tied the record at 4.21 seconds last year, and he seems interested to see if anyone can top him:

"

#tbt Combine time... Are y'all going to beat last years 40 or nah? #2014nflcombine @nfl @nike… http://t.co/TQXU9bdeJm

— MARQUISE GOODWIN (@FlashGoodwin) February 20, 2014"

That is no easy task, but with so many top athletes preparing for this moment, a number of receivers are likely to come close.

Player	School	Best 40
Jared Abbrederis	Wisconsin	4.5
Davante Adams	Fresno State	4.56
Odell Beckham Jr.	LSU	4.43
Kelvin Benjamin	Florida State	4.61
Chris Boyd	Vanderbilt	4.73
Corey Brown	Ohio State	4.51
John Brown	Pittsburg St. (KS)	4.34
Martavis Bryant	Clemson	4.42
Isaiah Burse	Fresno State	4.58

Mike Campanaro	Wake Forest	4.46
Brandon Coleman	Rutgers	4.56
Brandin Cooks	Oregon State	4.33
Damian Copeland	Louisville	4.50
Bruce Ellington	South Carolina	4.45
Quincy Enunwa	Nebraska	4.45
Shaq Evans	UCLA	4.51
Mike Evans	Texas A&M	4.53
Bennie Fowler	Michigan State	4.52
Austin Franklin	New Mexico State	4.56

Jeremy Gallon	Michigan	4.49
Ryan Grant	Tulane	4.64
Matt Hazel	Coastal Carolina	4.5
Robert Herron	Wyoming	4.48
Cody Hoffman	BYU	4.65
Josh Huff	Oregon	4.51
Allen Hurns	Miami	4.55
Jeff Janis	Saginaw Valley St.	4.42
T.J. Jones	Notre Dame	4.48
Jarvis Landry	LSU	4.77

Marqise Lee	USC	4.52
Marcus Lucas	Missouri	4.6
Jordan Matthews	Vanderbilt	4.46
Donte Moncrief	Mississippi	4.4
Kevin Norwood	Alabama	4.48
Walt Powell	Murray State	4.63
Tevin Reese	Baylor	4.46
Paul Richardson	Colorado	4.4
Allen Robinson	Penn State	4.6
Jalen Saunders	Oklahoma	4.44

Willie Snead	Ball State	4.62
Josh Stewart	Oklahoma State	4.69
Devin Street	Pittsburgh	4.55
L'Damian Washington	Missouri	4.46
Sammy Watkins	Clemson	4.43
Albert Wilson	Georgia State	4.43

Defensive Linemen

When it comes to defensive linemen, 40 times run the gamut from hugely important to almost insignificant. Smaller, speed pass-rushers need to run well in order to ease concerns regarding their strength disadvantage. Big defensive tackles, on the other hand, don't need to be as fast as they are quick.

Even so, the 40-yard dash times are a nice barometer of athleticism and explosiveness. Teams will usually go with the faster player if everything else is equal, so defensive linemen can't afford to phone it in.

Linebackers

As the athleticism and speed of tight ends have increased, the same can be said for linebackers. Having great instincts used to be enough for a linebacker to be great at the NFL level, but they are asked to do so much currently that some measure of speed is an absolute must.

Whether it's getting outside to stop a toss play, rushing the quarterback or dropping back into pass coverage, linebackers have tons of responsibilities that require speed. Don't be surprised if some linebackers manage to run as fast or faster than tight ends or even wide receivers at the combine.

Cornerbacks

As wide receivers get faster, so do cornerbacks. Corners need to be able to backpedal quickly, which is something that isn't really measured at the combine, but they do need straight-line speed as well in order to cover deep patterns down the field.

Also, corners are becoming increasingly important in terms of stopping the run, and speed factors in significantly. Many of the best corners in NFL history have been able to attack the ball and make things happen after forcing turnovers, and speed has plenty to do with it.

Safeties

Like linebackers, safeties are asked to do any number of things on the field. That involves playing close to the line, helping out in coverage over the top and even covering tight ends, running backs and wide receivers man-on-man. Being a big hitter is nice, but it can be argued that speed is even more important for NFL safeties these days.

There aren't many highly touted safeties in the 2014 class, but perhaps a few can change that by tearing it up in the 40.