Yesterday I ran an article about wide receiver 40s at the combine. Here's the sister article, after the 2022 running back draft class worked out last night. As we say all the time (and the history of results shows), speed isn't everything. But the perceived top prospects didn't hurt themselves.
Notably, Michigan State's Kenny Walker and Iowa State's Breece Hall (pictured) each staked his case to be the top running back drafted next month by running a sub 4.4 40. In the last 15 years, only nine other running backs drafted in the first two rounds have turned in that kind of time, including several of the better pros from those years: Chris Johnson, Jonathan Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. (Saquon Barkley and Adrian Peterson each ran 4.40.)
As is apparent from the table, not all of those faster times have translated into NFL success. LaMichael James, anyone? But I've included heights and weights, since running that kind of time at 217 pounds (Hall) or 211 (Walker) is a little more noteworthy than sub-200 pounders like James, Jahvid Best and Isaiah Pead doing it. When Taylor did it at 226 pounds, it hinted at a special kind of talent.
With the wide receiver table, I showed all wide receivers from the last 15 years who ran at the combine and were selected in the first round. For running backs, I'm including all players drafted in the first or second rounds, to get a larger group of players. In addition to Hall and Walker I included a couple of other top running back prospects, in bold. Not listed: Texas A&M's Isaiah Spiller, who didn't run.
As with the wideouts, I'm not including pro day times; these are all official combine numbers. No combine in 2021, so none of last year's rookies made the table.
| 1ST- AND 2ND-ROUND RBS, COMBINE 40S (2006-PRESENT) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rd | Pk | Player | Ht | Wt | 40 time |
| 2008 | 1 | 24 | Chris Johnson | 5.11 | 203 | 4.24 |
| 2008 | 1 | 4 | Darren McFadden | 6.01 | 211 | 4.33 |
| 2010 | 1 | 30 | Jahvid Best | 5.10 | 199 | 4.35 |
| 2012 | 2 | 61 | LaMichael James | 5.08 | 194 | 4.35 |
| 2010 | 1 | 9 | C.J. Spiller | 5.11 | 196 | 4.37 |
| 2022 | ? | ? | Kenny Walker | 5.09 | 211 | 4.38 |
| 2012 | 1 | 32 | David Wilson | 5.10 | 206 | 4.38 |
| 2022 | ? | ? | Breece Hall | 5.11 | 217 | 4.39 |
| 2020 | 2 | 41 | Jonathan Taylor | 5.10 | 226 | 4.39 |
| 2012 | 2 | 50 | Isaiah Pead | 5.10 | 197 | 4.39 |
| 2006 | 2 | 60 | Maurice Jones-Drew | 5.07 | 207 | 4.39 |
| 2018 | 1 | 2 | Saquon Barkley | 6.00 | 233 | 4.40 |
| 2007 | 1 | 7 | Adrian Peterson | 6.01 | 217 | 4.40 |
| 2006 | 1 | 30 | Joseph Addai | 5.11 | 214 | 4.40 |
| 2007 | 2 | 50 | Chris Henry | 5.11 | 230 | 4.40 |
| 2008 | 1 | 23 | Rashard Mendenhall | 5.10 | 225 | 4.41 |
| 2008 | 2 | 55 | Ray Rice | 5.08 | 199 | 4.42 |
| 2010 | 2 | 58 | Ben Tate | 5.11 | 220 | 4.43 |
| 2008 | 1 | 22 | Felix Jones | 5.10 | 207 | 4.44 |
| 2008 | 2 | 44 | Matt Forte | 6.01 | 217 | 4.44 |
| 2010 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Mathews | 6.00 | 218 | 4.45 |
| 2007 | 2 | 49 | Kenny Irons | 5.11 | 203 | 4.45 |
| 2007 | 1 | 12 | Marshawn Lynch | 5.11 | 215 | 4.46 |
| 2008 | 1 | 13 | Jonathan Stewart | 5.10 | 235 | 4.46 |
| 2018 | 1 | 27 | Rashaad Penny | 5.11 | 220 | 4.46 |
| 2009 | 1 | 27 | Donald Brown | 5.10 | 210 | 4.46 |
| 2012 | 1 | 31 | Doug Martin | 5.09 | 223 | 4.46 |
| 2016 | 1 | 4 | Ezekiel Elliott | 6.00 | 225 | 4.47 |
| 2020 | 2 | 52 | Cam Akers | 5.10 | 217 | 4.47 |
| 2017 | 1 | 8 | Christian McCaffrey | 5.11 | 202 | 4.48 |
| 2020 | 2 | 35 | D'Andre Swift | 5.08 | 212 | 4.48 |
| 2017 | 2 | 41 | Dalvin Cook | 5.11 | 213 | 4.49 |
| 2019 | 2 | 53 | Miles Sanders | 5.11 | 211 | 4.49 |
| 2014 | 2 | 54 | Bishop Sankey | 5.09 | 209 | 4.49 |
| 2011 | 2 | 56 | Shane Vereen | 5.10 | 205 | 4.49 |
| 2018 | 2 | 59 | Derrius Guice | 5.11 | 218 | 4.49 |
| 2010 | 2 | 59 | Montario Hardesty | 6.00 | 225 | 4.49 |
| 2009 | 1 | 12 | Knowshon Moreno | 5.11 | 217 | 4.50 |
| 2009 | 2 | 53 | LeSean McCoy | 5.10 | 198 | 4.50 |
| 2017 | 1 | 4 | Leonard Fournette | 6.01 | 230 | 4.51 |
| 2015 | 1 | 15 | Melvin Gordon | 6.01 | 215 | 4.52 |
| 2009 | 1 | 31 | Beanie Wells | 6.01 | 235 | 4.52 |
| 2018 | 2 | 35 | Nick Chubb | 5.10 | 225 | 4.52 |
| 2013 | 2 | 37 | Giovani Bernard | 5.09 | 208 | 4.53 |
| 2010 | 2 | 51 | Toby Gerhart | 6.00 | 231 | 4.53 |
| 2020 | 2 | 62 | A.J. Dillon | 6.00 | 247 | 4.53 |
| 2018 | 1 | 31 | Sony Michel | 5.11 | 214 | 4.54 |
| 2016 | 2 | 45 | Derrick Henry | 6.02 | 247 | 4.54 |
| 2013 | 2 | 62 | Christine Michael | 5.10 | 221 | 4.54 |
| 2007 | 2 | 63 | Brandon Jackson | 5.10 | 210 | 4.54 |
| 2013 | 2 | 61 | Eddie Lacy | 5.11 | 230 | 4.55 |
| 2011 | 2 | 57 | Mikel Leshoure | 6.00 | 233 | 4.56 |
| 2022 | ? | ? | Dameon Pierce | 5.10 | 218 | 4.59 |
| 2022 | ? | ? | Kennedy Brooks | 5.11 | 209 | 4.59 |
| 2011 | 2 | 38 | Ryan Williams | 5.09 | 207 | 4.59 |
| 2020 | 1 | 32 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 5.07 | 207 | 4.60 |
| 2013 | 2 | 48 | LeVeon Bell | 6.01 | 230 | 4.60 |
| 2015 | 2 | 54 | Ameer Abdullah | 5.09 | 205 | 4.60 |
| 2015 | 2 | 36 | T.J. Yeldon | 6.01 | 226 | 4.61 |
| 2011 | 1 | 28 | Mark Ingram | 5.09 | 215 | 4.62 |
| 2018 | 2 | 38 | Ronald Jones | 6.00 | 200 | 4.66 |
| 2014 | 2 | 55 | Jeremy Hill | 6.01 | 233 | 4.66 |
| 2014 | 2 | 57 | Carlos Hyde | 6.00 | 230 | 4.66 |
| 2013 | 2 | 58 | Montee Ball | 5.10 | 215 | 4.66 |
Again, speed isn't everything. There are busts at both the fast and slow ends of the table, and also NFL stars. But interesting to look at after the fact, and realize maybe I should have been lower a few years ago on guys like Ronald Jones and Montee Ball.