Texas wideout Xavier Worthy ran a 4.21 40 at the combine yesterday, breaking the record of 4.22 established by John Ross in 2017. That in itself is a cautionary tale, since Ross never did anything noteworthy in the NFL. Speed isn't everything.
Donte Stallworth also ran a 4.22 in 2002, although times from the earliest days of electronic timing generally aren't viewed as reliably. Prior to 2000, 40 times were all hand-timed, and those are viewed even more skeptically. Bo Jackson, famously, ran a 4.12 back in 1985, and then in 1998 Joey Galloway ran a 4.18. Maybe they'd have done the same under current electronic methods; we'll never know for sure.
For now, we'll stick with electronic timing. Worthy won't necessarily be selected in the first round, but it's possible; certainly no later than round 2. How have those lightning-fast wideouts fared in the NFL?
I looked at all wideouts selected in the first three rounds of the draft this century, sorted by 40 times at the combine. (For apples-to-apples comparison, I only used electronic combine 40s -- not pro days, and no hand-timed numbers.)
There have been 43 wide receivers drafted in the first three rounds since 2000 who ran a 4.35 or faster. Of those 43 wideouts, eight have had a top-10 fantasy season (PPR) at some point in their career. Six others (including Stallworth) at least had a top-25 season.
About half (20 of 43), however, are in the Ross category -- never ranking in the top 60 at their position. That includes five players regularly mentioned among the bigger busts from this century: Ross, R. Jay Soward, Kevin White, Phillip Dorsett and Henry Ruggs (extenuating circumstances in that one).
Table shows those 43 wideouts, sorted by 40 time, with the numbers from their career-best season listed. Those with a top-25 campaign are in bold, and worth noting that a lot of the better seasons came from the (comparatively) slower guys (Stallworth was the lone sub-4.3 guy with a top-25 season). Height and weight numbers are also shown.
| WIDE RECEIVERS RUNNING 4.35 OR FASTER SINCE 2000 (RD 1-3) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | Rd | Player | Ht | Wt | 40 | No | Yds | TD | Rk |
| 2017 | 1 | John Ross, Cin. | 5.11 | 188 | 4.22 | 28 | 506 | 3 | 74 |
| 2002 | 1 | Donte Stallworth, N.O. | 6.00 | 197 | 4.22 | 70 | 945 | 7 | 23 |
| 2013 | 3 | Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 5.09 | 179 | 4.27 | 56 | 962 | 2 | 31 |
| 2020 | 1 | Henry Ruggs, L.V. | 5.11 | 198 | 4.27 | 24 | 469 | 2 | 86 |
| 2013 | 1 | Tavon Austin, St.L. | 5.08 | 176 | 4.28 | 52 | 473 | 10 | 27 |
| 2010 | 2 | Arrelious Benn, T.B. | 6.01 | 219 | 4.28 | 30 | 441 | 3 | 81 |
| 2012 | 2 | Stephen Hill, NYJ | 6.04 | 215 | 4.28 | 21 | 252 | 3 | 97 |
| 2022 | 2 | Tyquan Thornton, N.E. | 6.02 | 181 | 4.28 | 22 | 247 | 3 | 98 |
| 2009 | 1 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak. | 6.02 | 210 | 4.30 | 64 | 975 | 4 | 28 |
| 2007 | 3 | Yamon Figurs, Balt. | 5.11 | 174 | 4.30 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 142 |
| 2001 | 1 | Santana Moss, Was. | 5.10 | 181 | 4.31 | 84 | 1483 | 9 | 6 |
| 2017 | 2 | Curtis Samuel, Car. | 5.11 | 196 | 4.31 | 77 | 851 | 5 | 24 |
| 2019 | 2 | Parris Campbell, Ind. | 6.00 | 205 | 4.31 | 63 | 623 | 3 | 48 |
| 2009 | 3 | Deon Butler, Sea. | 5.10 | 182 | 4.31 | 36 | 385 | 4 | 74 |
| 2019 | 2 | Andy Isabella , Ari. | 5.09 | 188 | 4.31 | 21 | 224 | 2 | 114 |
| 2022 | 3 | Velus Jones, Chi. | 6.00 | 204 | 4.31 | 7 | 107 | 2 | 126 |
| 2016 | 1 | Will Fuller, Hou. | 6.00 | 186 | 4.32 | 53 | 879 | 8 | 32 |
| 2007 | 3 | Jason Hill, S.F. | 6.00 | 204 | 4.32 | 30 | 317 | 2 | 84 |
| 2002 | 2 | Tim Carter, NYG | 6.00 | 190 | 4.32 | 22 | 253 | 3 | 90 |
| 2006 | 2 | Chad Jackson, N.E. | 6.01 | 213 | 4.32 | 13 | 152 | 3 | 105 |
| 2019 | 2 | DK Metcalf, Sea. | 6.03 | 228 | 4.33 | 83 | 1303 | 10 | 7 |
| 2001 | 2 | Chris Chambers, Mia. | 6.00 | 210 | 4.33 | 82 | 1118 | 11 | 8 |
| 2009 | 3 | Mike Wallace, Pitt. | 6.00 | 199 | 4.33 | 72 | 1193 | 8 | 9 |
| 2014 | 1 | Brandin Cooks, N.O. | 5.10 | 189 | 4.33 | 78 | 1173 | 8 | 10 |
| 2014 | 2 | Paul Richardson, Sea. | 6.00 | 183 | 4.33 | 44 | 703 | 6 | 39 |
| 2019 | 2 | Mecole Hardman, K.C. | 5.10 | 187 | 4.33 | 59 | 693 | 2 | 47 |
| 2015 | 1 | Phillip Dorsett, N.E. | 5.10 | 185 | 4.33 | 29 | 397 | 5 | 71 |
| 2022 | 3 | Danny Gray, S.F. | 6.00 | 186 | 4.33 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 206 |
| 2018 | 2 | DJ Chark, Jac. | 6.03 | 199 | 4.34 | 73 | 1008 | 8 | 18 |
| 2014 | 3 | John Brown, Buff. | 5.10 | 179 | 4.34 | 72 | 1060 | 6 | 20 |
| 2014 | 3 | Donte Moncrief, Ind. | 6.02 | 221 | 4.34 | 64 | 733 | 6 | 37 |
| 2003 | 2 | Tyrone Calico, Ten. | 6.04 | 223 | 4.34 | 18 | 297 | 4 | 86 |
| 2012 | 3 | T.J. Graham, Buff. | 6.02 | 210 | 4.34 | 31 | 322 | 1 | 88 |
| 2000 | 1 | R. Jay Soward, Jac. | 5.10 | 177 | 4.34 | 14 | 154 | 1 | 102 |
| 2006 | 3 | Willie Reid, Pitt. | 5.10 | 188 | 4.34 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 157 |
| 2007 | 1 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 6.05 | 239 | 4.35 | 122 | 1964 | 5 | 1 |
| 2002 | 1 | Javon Walker, G.B. | 6.03 | 210 | 4.35 | 89 | 1382 | 12 | 3 |
| 2008 | 2 | DeSean Jackson, Phil. | 5.10 | 169 | 4.35 | 62 | 1156 | 12 | 10 |
| 2019 | 3 | Terry McLaurin, Was. | 6.00 | 208 | 4.35 | 77 | 1191 | 5 | 16 |
| 2007 | 3 | Mike Sims-Walker, Jac. | 6.02 | 209 | 4.35 | 63 | 869 | 7 | 24 |
| 2015 | 3 | Chris Conley, Jac. | 6.02 | 213 | 4.35 | 47 | 775 | 5 | 44 |
| 2008 | 3 | Andre Caldwell, Cin. | 6.00 | 204 | 4.35 | 51 | 432 | 3 | 65 |
| 2015 | 1 | Kevin White, Chi. | 6.03 | 215 | 4.35 | 19 | 187 | 0 | 123 |
--Andy Richardson