Some of the biggest names of the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft class have wowed spectators with their 40-yard dash times. Though there is no typical NFL Combine this year, different schools' respective pro days have given us a glimpse into the skills and talents that each player possesses, and the showcase of speed at the 40-yard dash is always one that draws a ton of attention.
If you have a need for speed, then the 2021 Draft Class — at least from what we've seen at different pro days — is a good one for you. Wide receivers Anthony Schwartz and Rondale Moore both broke the 4.30-second barrier, with Schwartz unofficially recording what would be one of the fastest official times ever.
Schwartz, however, is not one of the top-tier candidates in the class. Quarterback Justin Fields, who could be a top-five pick depending on how teams evaluate his stock, ran a blistering 4.44-second dash. Ja'Marr Chase, who could very well be the first wide receiver off the board, ran it in 4.38 seconds. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Kyle Pitts ran an incredible 4.44-second 40-yard dash, which probably shouldn't be achievable for someone of his physical stature. Then again, linebacker and potential first-rounder Micah Parsons covered that distance in 4.39 seconds, which isn't too bad for a 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive machine.
While these feats of athleticism and overall physical freakishness are undoubtedly fun to watch and compare with other players, how much stock should you really give them? Sometimes, they mean a lot. Chris Johnson's 4.24-second 40-yard dash at the 2008 Combine was a sign of things to come for the All-Pro running back, whose breakaway speed led him to a 2,000-yard showing in just his second season. Dominant cornerbacks like Patrick Peterson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had brilliant 40-yard dash showings and translated that into on-field coverage ability. D.K. Metcalf and Michael Vick both posted 4.33-second times, and it's not hard to understand how each of them use(d) that speed to their advantage on the football field.
But, at the same time and as the title of this story suggests, speed isn't everything. Here are ten players selected early in the NFL Draft who posted great 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine since 2000, but whose careers didn't quite pan out as planned.
John Ross: 4.22 seconds
John Ross is known as one of the fastest players in the NFL.(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)The good thing here is that John Ross is still only 25 years old, so it's probably too early to call him a bust. We've seen flashes, too, though injuries ultimately derailed any momentum he had gained.
The bad thing is that the Bengals pretty much wasted a great opportunity on that ninth overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, especially with Patrick Mahomes and Marshon Lattimore going in the next two picks. Andy Dalton had obviously been the guy then, so Mahomes wouldn't have made much sense, but they had some other pressing needs that they could have addressed. Names like Curtis Samuel (40th overall), JuJu Smith-Schuster (62nd overall), Cooper Kupp (69th overall) and Chris Godwin (84th overall) are all much better presences on the outside.
Ross can still redeem himself, but it won't be with the Bengals. He agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the New York Giants last month.
Dri Archer: 4.26 seconds
Dri Archer never ended up finding his niche in the NFL.(Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)Archer is the primary exception to the rule on this list, as he wasn't really an early draft pick. The Steelers took a gamble on him with the 97th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, whereas pretty much everyone else on this list was a first- or second-round selection. Still, the fact that Archer holds one of the fastest 40-yard dash times in history makes his inclusion necessary.
Archer had 63 yards from scrimmage in his two-year career. That's it. He also returned 23 kicks in that span, though he wasn't able to showcase his dynamic speed on any return touchdowns.
Darrius Heyward-Bey: 4.30 seconds
Darrius Heyward-Bey could make defenders look silly — like the Browns in this picture — with his speed.(Justin Berl/Getty Images)Some wide receivers taken in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft were guys like Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin and Hakeem Nicks. Heyward-Bey, however, was selected before anyone else at the position.
The Raiders drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick after Heyward-Bey dazzled at the combine with a 40-yard dash time that still ranks within the top 25 since 2000, regardless of position. However, that didn't equate to No. 7 overall pick-type success on the gridiron. Sure, he had a lengthy career, lasting a decade in the NFL. But he also never reached the lofty heights that were expected of him, recording 202 receptions for 2,897 yards and 16 touchdowns in that 10-year span.
Taylor Mays: 4.31 seconds
Taylor Mays only lasted one year with the team that drafted him, the 49ers.(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)Zedrick Woods, an undrafted safety at the 2019 Combine, is the only player listed as a safety during the Combine to record a better 40-yard dash than Mays. He ran a 4.29, while Mays ran a 4.31 back in 2010. That, combined with many of his conference-leading pass defense numbers throughout his career at USC, was enough for the 49ers to grab him with their second-round pick.
Their marriage lasted for just one year, with Mays playing in all 16 games but defending only two passes. Prior to the next season, the Niners flipped him for a 2013 seventh-rounder, showing just how far his stock had fallen after his underwhelming rookie season. Mays bounced around, going to the Bengals, Vikings, Lions, Raiders and Bengals again for limited stints before going to the CFL for a game.
Troy Williamson: 4.32 seconds
Troy Williamson was not who the Vikings were looking for as a Randy Moss replacement.(Steve Dykes/Getty Images)Williamson ran the fifth fastest 40-yard dash at the 2005 NFL Combine, trailing only Jerome Mathis at the wide receiver position. However, unlike Mathis, Williamson was seen as a top commodity in the draft, and the Vikings had a big hole to fill with Randy Moss going to the Raiders.
But 2005 wasn't the year to look for a big-time wide receiver in the class of prospects. Roddy White and Vincent Jackson were legitimate WR1-caliber names, but the rest of the class never quite made it. Williamson was among that group, finishing his career with just 87 receptions for 1,131 yards and four touchdowns.
Jahvid Best: 4.34 seconds
Jahvid Best was drafted as the Lions' running back of the future, but concussions got in the way.(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)Best is tied for the fifth fastest 40-yard dash time among running backs since 2000 at 4.34 seconds, with Lamar Miller probably ranking atop the bunch as the best, and the undrafted Onterio McCalebb having the least significant career. Jahvid Best, however, was the highest draft pick of all the 4.34-second running backs, with the Lions selecting him 30th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft as their hopeful running back of the future.
And it's not entirely his fault that he couldn't fulfill that role. Best suffered several concussions throughout his career — including while he was still at school — and ultimately was sidelined for good after just 22 games. He showed flashes of that brilliant speed, like when he ran for an 88-yard score in his penultimate NFL game, but concussion issues prevented him from sustaining that type of play.
He didn't completely leave his speed behind, though, competing as an Olympic sprinter in 2016.
Tye Hill: 4.34 seconds
Tye Hill's speed wasn't all that was required for him to be an effective defensive back.(Greg Trott/Getty Images)The 15th overall pick in the 2006 Draft, Hill made some big plays as rookie with the St. Louis Rams but followed that up with two injury-marred campaigns. In September 2009, Hill was traded to the Falcons for a seventh-round pick, and he still had a little bit left in the tank. His 62-yard pick six against Washington helped Atlanta to break the game wide open early in the first quarter.
He'd go on to play four games for the Detroit Lions the following season, and those four would be the last four that he ever played.
LaMichael James: 4.35 seconds
LaMichael James never found his way to a feature back role in the NFL.(Steve Dykes/Getty Images)The most memorable running back bust from the 2012 NFL Draft was Trent Richardson, who the Cleveland Browns selected using the No. 3 overall pick, but breakaway speed was not his strong suit. The 49ers, instead, waited until the second round to take a running back — their first-round pick of A.J. Jenkins wasn't great, though — going with LaMichael James out of Oregon. Future 49ers running back Alfred Morris probably ended up being the best value pick at the position, exploding for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sixth-round rookie for Washington.
The same can't be said for James. San Francisco only kept him in town for a pair of seasons, watching him play in a limited capacity for the 2012 and 2013 seasons before waiving him in early September 2014. He finished his career with 193 rushing yards total.
Matt Jones: 4.37 seconds
Matt Jones' off-field issues derailed an otherwise promising career.(Doug Benc/Getty Images)Jones, a quarterback at Arkansas who was drafted by Jacksonville to play a skill position despite his lack of experience doing so, had a whole lot of hype given his first-round draft status. A part of the same draft as Troy Williamson, the Jags took him at No. 21 overall, but Jones never panned out and further damaged his career with violations of the league's substance abuse policy.
He did have some big showings — in only 12 games in 2008, he recorded 65 catches for 761 yards, which put him on pace to surpass 1,000 — but his career only last four years after the Jaguars released him due to an arrest.
Daniel Bullocks: 4.38 seconds
Before Daniel Bullocks coached the 49ers' safeties group, he played for the Lions.(Domenic Centofanti/Getty Images)Bullocks, currently a safeties coach with the San Francisco 49ers, obviously has the know-how to teach a group of young, developing safeties about playing the position. But he also had the physical tools at one point in his life, running an impressive 4.38-second 40 at the Combine.
As a second-round pick, Bullocks played a big role for the Lions right away, playing in 15 games for the 2006 Lions and starting all but one of the 2008 team's games. Then again, we all know just how miserable those 2008 Lions were — it is difficult to lose all 16 games — and that would be the last campaign in his career. Bullocks was released ahead of the 2010 season, meaning the Lions went a perfect 0-for-40 in terms of their draft selections from 2002 to 2006.
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