2020 NFL Combine: Top-5 40 times for QBs, WRs, TEs

It was a very long first day of the NFL Combine, mostly due to the fact that NFL Network moved everything to the evening and wanted to bring coverage to primetime for the first time its’ coverage. Some players were still going through drills after 10pm in Indianapolis which is kind’ve insane.

But everyone seemed to make it through alright, save for one or two prospects who tweaked something from their initial forty attempt. Most notably was Colorado’s Laviska Shenault who was viewed as a player to potentially blow up the combine with his size/speed combination at 6’0 and almost 230 pounds. In his first forty, however, “Viska” pulled up slightly after running in the low 4.5s and never ran again the rest of the night. For context, many expected him to run in the 4.4s.

But for those who were able to finish the day, they got to see some burners out on the field in the final wide receiver group. Alabama’s Henry Ruggs II was a legitimate candidate to break John Ross’ record of a 4.22 in the forty but “only” managed a 4.27 on his first attempt. He was whistled for an error on his initial attempt out of the gate and that led to many people thinking that was going to be the record-breaker. Another receiver worth mentioning who was just outside the top five fastest was Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool. The massive 6’4 wideout weighed-in at 238 pounds upon his arrival and went on to run a 4.42 in the 40. You want to know who else joins him as the only other receiver to be at least 6’4, 238 pounds and run at least a 4.42....?

Calvin Freakin’ Johnson.

So yeah, you could say it was a good day for Claypool.

The tight ends, who ran their forties first were a bit underwhelming with one guy setting Twitter ablaze with his performance. The quarterbacks were actually fairly athletic across the board, with at least five guys running under 4.70.

The offensive linemen and running backs are out on the field today so be sure to watch that when coverage starts on the NFL Network around 4pm EST.

Quarterbacks

1.) Cole McDonald (Hawaii) - 4.58 at 6’3 215 pounds
2.) Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) - 4.59 at 6’1 222 pounds
T-3.) Justin Herbert (Oregon) - 4.68 at 6’6 236 pounds
T-3.) Steven Montez (Colorado) - 4.68 at 6’3 231 pounds
5.) Kelly Bryant (Missouri) - 4.69 at 6’3 229 pounds

Wide Receivers

1.) Henry Ruggs III (Alabama) - 4.27 at 5’11 188 pounds
2.) Quez Watkins (Southern Miss) - 4.35 at 6’0 185 pounds
T-3.) Denzel Mims (Baylor) - 4.38 at 6’3 207 pounds
T-3.) Darnell Mooney (Tulane) - 4.38 at 5’10 176 pounds
T-5.) Devin Duvernay (Texas) - 4.39 T 6’0 at 200 pounds
T-5) Antonio Gibson (Memphis) - 4.39 at 228 pounds

Tight Ends

1.) Albert Okwuegbunam (Missouri) - 4.49 at 6’5 258 pounds
T-2.) Brycen Hopkins (Purdue) - 4.66 at 6’4 245 pounds
T-2.) Stephen Sullivan (LSU) - 4.66 at 6’6 248 pounds
4.) Cole Kmet (Notre Dame) - 4.70 at 6’6 262 pounds
5.) Dalton Keene (Virginia Tech) - 4.71 at 6’4 253 pounds