This is a really good article about why the 40 yard dash should not be the standard at the combine. It doesn’t tell the whole story..
Quote:
Last year, the receiver who ran the 35th-fastest 40-yard dash of his position group also registered the top speed during the gauntlet drill -- a drill in which players are asked to catch passes while running at full speed across the width of the football field.
The Los Angeles Rams decided a player's performance in a more football specific drill was more important than what he ran in the 40-yard dash and spent a fifth-round pick on him.
With 1,486 yards and 105 catches in his rookie season, Puka Nacua proved them right. The NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash but hit a top speed of 20.06 miles per hour over the first 40 yards of the gauntlet drill, according to Next Gen Stats. No other prospect registered a speed faster than 19.65.
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Cooper Kupp and Kyle Hamilton also guys that ran poor 40 yard dash but had really good play speed via GPS. Kupp got a 20 mph on the gun and Hamilton got 21.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...oming-obsolete