The wide receivers who ran slow at the NFL Combine (and still had pretty good careers)
Who ran slow at the Combine and turned into a great NFL receiver regardless?
Speed plays an outsized role in assessing an NFL prospect. This is especially true when it comes to wide receivers.
Several pass-catchers have seen their fortunes rise and fall thanks to their 40-yard dash times. For some, a stunning number can set unfair expectations. For others, a slower-than-expected 40 can cost them millions of dollars when their draft stock slides accordingly.
John Ross, for example, was never able to live up to the top-10 draft pick status the Cincinnati Bengals bestowed upon him after setting the NFL Combine record by blazing a 4.22s 40-yard dash. Cooper Kupp, however, didn’t test well enough to shake his “big fish, small pond” vibes after eviscerating the competition at Eastern Washington and slid to the third round of the 2017 Draft.
On Thursday, the 2022 class of wideouts left its mark as the fastest of all time after eight different receivers ran 40 times under the 4.4s barrier. There were a couple notable names who slid down that list of this year’s fastest WRs, however. Arkansas Treylon Burks and Purdue’s David Bell each ran 4.55s or worse to finish in the bottom third of their class in the workout.
That’s not ideal, but it’s not a harbinger of things to come. Since 2010, more than 20 receivers have gone from running 4.5s+ in Indianapolis to starting roles and seasons with at least 800 receiving yards.
Let’s take the top 15 most impactful wideouts who ran (relatively slow) at the Combine. What trends do we find in this list? Well, it turns out straight-line speed isn’t a dealbreaker if you’re big, play primarily in the slot or are Kupp/DeAndre Hopkins. Let’s take a look at the most notable names.