Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah Boosts NFL Draft Stock with Faster 40 Time at Pro Day

It's a tough time to be a young running back.

Not only has the position been devalued in recent years (to the point that no running backs were taken in the first round of the past two NFL drafts), but the 2015 class is deep, filled with backs of similar talent levels jockeying for position.

In that regard, everything this year's crop of rookie ball-carriers does during "draft season" is going to be magnified, and Thursday it was Ameer Abdullah's turn to go under the microscope.

And just when he needed to most, the Nebraska running back came up big.

Granted, he didn't do a whole lot Thursday in Lincoln. As Bryan Fischer of NFL.com reported, for the most part the 5'9", 205-pound Abdullah stood on his numbers from his performance at last month's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis:

That was understandable, as for the most part Abdullah fared well in Indy. In fact, he shined, finishing first among running backs in four drills:

Drill	Result	Rank (RB)
40-yard dash	4.60 seconds	12
Bench Press	24 reps	7
Vertical Leap	42.5"	1
Broad Jump	130"	1
3-Cone Drill	6.79 seconds	1
Short Shuttle	3.95 seconds	1

However, that less-than-stellar 40 time had some scouts and draftniks questioning Abdullah's straight-line speed, and he hoped to quiet those whispers with a better time at his pro day.

Mission accomplished:

Regardless of the official time at Nebraska's pro day, that improvement of around one-tenth of a second is enough to wipe away the stink from Abdullah's relatively sluggish times in Indianapolis.

That, in turn, wipes away the lone blemish on his otherwise rock-solid draft season. In addition to his strong showing at the combine, Abdullah was also named the MVP of January's Senior Bowl after he picked up 113 yards on 11 touches in the game.

The Senior Bowl was just a continuation of an incredible senior season for Abdullah. For the second straight season, he topped 1,600 yards on the ground for Nebraska, averaging more than six yards a carry while scoring 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Those two huge years for Abdullah also gave scouts a ton of tape to watch, film that evoked comparisons to Ahmad Bradshaw from Dane Brugler and Brandon Thorn of CBS Sports:

"

Coming out of Marshall, Bradshaw was measured at 5-10, 192 pounds and put on close to 20 pounds to become much more of a pile mover as a pro. Both won in college through superb vision, decisiveness, balance, effort and quickness. Abdullah has room on his frame to pack on 5-8 pounds comfortably and develop into a very similarly used player as Bradshaw has been throughout his career.

"

Mind you, this isn't to say that everything is sunshine and puppies where Abdullah is concerned. At only 5'9" (on his tiptoes) he is on the small side for a "feature" back. His fumble rate of once every 35.4 touches (per Brugler) is easily the worst of this year's top backs.

Player	School	Fumble Rate
Ameer Abdullah	Nebraska	35.4
Melvin Gordon	Wisconsin	54.4
T.J. Yeldon	Alabama	62.2
Jay Ajayi	Boise State	62.6
Todd Gurley	Georgia	191.7

However, Abdullah isn't going to get taller, and the only place he can disprove doubters of his ball-handling skills is between the lines.

What he could do Thursday was remind scouts that by no stretch of the imagination is he "slow."

And while that might not be enough for him to leapfrog the likes of Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon to be the first running back drafted in 2015, it at least kept him in the conversation.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.