2015 NFL Draft Combine: Is the 40 yard dash obsolete?

The broad jump, the short shuttle, the vertical leap, and any other football drill for that matter, all take a back seat to the 40 yard dash. As the 2015 NFL Draft’s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis is set to begin on February 17th, the 40 yard dash will be the main topic of conversation. A strong showing this particular event can send an obscure draft prospect skyrocketing up the draft board. Conversely, a poor showing can send a well known draft prospect plummeting down the draft board just as easily. With so many other football drills to choose from, so why is so much weight placed on a prospect’s results in this particular drill?

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The 40 yard dash was a scouting tool that is said to have been developed by legendary football coach Paul Brown. While Brown’s reasoning behind choosing 40 yards to measure football speed remains a mystery, he was an innovative mind that developed many football practices that are still in use today. From there, it was Gil Brandt who helped to popularize the use of the 40 yard dash when evaluating football talent. Brandt served as Vice President of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960-1988.

After experimenting with different distances, Brandt determined that 40 yards was the best and most efficient distance to measure the speed of skill position players. Eventually, more teams joined in on timing prospects in the 40 yard dash until it became an industry standard. It is widely believed that teams settled on the distance of 40 yards because that is the same distance of an average NFL punt. In addition, the average hang time of an NFL punt lands in the neighborhood of 4-4.5 seconds, the same time that most skill position players can cover 40 yards of distance.

That being said, I believe that player specialization has led to the 40 yard dash becoming obsolete for most positions. If the NFL has collectively decided that 40 yards is the best distance to measure a player’s speed because of the average punt distance, then I think only prospects who are projected as special teams players should be required to perform this drill. In the days of Paul Brown and Gil Brandt, all NFL players, even the superstars, were expected to play special teams. Therefore, the 40 yard dash was an appropriate drill for all players to be tested in back then.

In today’s NFL, it is highly unlikely that top players like J.J. Watt, Aaron Rodgers, or Calvin Johnson will be on the punt coverage unit. As a result, I think timing these caliber of players in the 40 yard dash is an exercise in futility. Furthermore, when looking at the fastest players in combine history, it reveals that most of the players played the majority of their careers on special teams anyway.

Only an exceptional few such as Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, and Champ Bailey have had blazing 40 yard dash times and were starting positional players. From Yamon Figurs to Jacoby Ford to Jerome Mathis, all of these players ran a 4.3 or better in their combine 40 yard dash, and all three carved out their niche on special teams. I have great respect for the innovative work that Brown and Brandt have contributed to the game of football, but unless I’m looking for a special teams ace, I’m going to punt away the 40 yard dash.

Next: Should Mariota throw at the Combine?

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