The phrases “speed kills” and “you can’t teach speed” are often bandied about in the NFL, and nowhere do players get to demonstrate their ability to put the pedal to the metal more than at the NFL Scouting Combine. The average fan is unlikely to remember which player set the record at the bench press (that was Stephen Paea – putting up an insane 49 reps at 224 pounds back in 2011) or broad jump (Byron Jones took off for a ridiculous 12 feet, 3 inches in 2015) – but when it comes to the fastest player in the league, many can rattle off Xavier Worthy‘s blazing 4.21 mark set last season.
The much-vaunted 40-yard dash drill is an excellent indicator of straight-line speed, though too much emphasis is placed on it, compared to the three-cone drill or 20-yard shuttle. Be that as it may.
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NFL Combine Fastest Players and Takeaways
The league places a premium on speed due to the current trend of spread offenses picking apart a defense – highlighting one-on-one matchups for chunk plays to generate momentum when possible. Teams gravitate towards players capable of creating a competitive advantage by outrunning defenders or creating faster pursuit and coverage. Oftentimes, the top-ranked offenses and defenses will be chock full of track stars.
This past weekend, many of the top collegiate players around the country gathered in Indianapolis to begin their NFL journey. Those who participated in the combine drills put on a show. Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah (two of my personal favorites) did a great job covering the event as always. They noted that this was one of the fastest groups ever to participate at the 40. Below, I’ve included several of the quickest players at each position and my fantasy outlook for them for next season.
Quarterback
Brady Cook came away with the top time at the position, though there is a gigantic caveat before I continue — a total of just three quarterbacks ran the 40-yard dash this year. Several of the top prospects at the position (most notably, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Quinn Ewers, Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel) all passed on the drill, in favor of running it at their designated Pro Days.
Still, let’s give credit where it is due. Cook posted a 4.59 time, which is the same number Jalen Hurts and Geno Smith finished with when they ran their drills, respectively. During his career at Missouri, after he became the starter in 2022, Cook scored 19 rushing touchdowns and amassed 1,127 yards on 339 carries (an average of 3.3 yards per carry).
Cook currently ranks outside the top 10 at the position, with most pundits and draft analysts thinking he will be more of a career backup than a starter. If he falls into the right situation and given a chance to start, we’d expect his rushing “upside” to mirror that of Patrick Mahomes — scrambling when necessary but preferring to stay inside the pocket if possible.
Additional Players to Note
Jalen Milroe from Alabama and Riley Leonard of Notre Dame are the most gifted rushing quarterbacks in this year’s class. Both players are likely to be Day 2 selections and would benefit greatly by sitting on the sidelines to address areas that need improvement. Milroe has a rare combination of power and explosiveness but needs to work on his short and moderate passing accuracy. Leonard is a natural leader with above-average wheels who isn’t afraid to invite contact but needs to stray away from playing gunslinger when it isn’t necessary.
Running Backs
Bhayshul Tuten (RB – Virginia Tech)
An under-appreciated recruit from the back roads of New Jersey, Bhayshul Tuten flew under the recruiting radar and began his collegiate career at North Carolina A&T before transferring to Virginia Tech his junior season in 2023. During his two-year tenure as a Hokie, Tuten rushed for over 2,000 yards with 25 rushing touchdowns, adding 50 receptions as a check-down option in the passing game.
Each year in college Tuten improved incrementally. Scouts noted he was able to reach his top speed as a runner quickly and efficiently, as evidenced by his incredible 4.32 40-yard dash time. He has soft hands and is a natural receiver, who runs tougher than his 5-foot-11, 210-pound frame would suggest. He caught my attention this past season with his performance in Week 8 against Boston College, running for a school-record 266 yards.
On most draft boards, Tuten is ranked as a Day 3 prospect, due to his poor pass protection, questionable ball security and history of injuries. His straight-line speed is undoubtedly impressive, but he will need to improve other areas of his game to have a fantasy impact, rather than being a one-trick pony. We’d expect him to enter a committee situation regardless of where he is drafted. Hopefully, with hard work and reps, he will improve in the other areas of his game.
Additional Players to Note
Looking at the running back position as a whole, this is one of the strongest draft classes in recent memory, and there are a legitimate half-dozen players who should instantly start, with plenty more making a quick impact.
Ashton Jeanty from Boise State headlines the group as the most productive collegiate running back since Barry Sanders, demonstrating an elite combination of balance and ability to break tackles, with trademark burst and explosiveness in open space. He will likely be selected within the first 15 picks of the draft. I expect him to be drafted as a mid-range RB1 option in August.
Omarion Hampton from North Carolina is my second-ranked option at the position, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where he lands in April. Hampton is a 6-foot-0, 221-pound wrecking ball who ended his college career with six straight 100-yard games in 2024.
Hampton finds a way to always fall forward for extra yardage and easily sheds off contact thanks to his strength and determination. His running style is reminiscent of Zach Charbonnet from Seattle, who was selected in the second round in 2023. Hampton ran a very competitive 4.46 time in the 40-yard dash at the combine — the same mark as Bijan Robinson and Matt Forte.
Two of my three remaining top-five prospects at the position competed in the 40-yard dash this year, with Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) posting a 4.57 time and TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State) finishing with an impressive 4.43 mark. Dylan Sampson (Tennessee) didn’t participate in the drill, but I’d expect him to put up a high 4.3 or low 4.4 mark at his Pro Day, given he was constantly clocked between 22-23 miles per hour (MPH) in games this season and his burst is easy to watch.
Sampson is the smallest of the three prospects and will be best served in a pass-catching role, but has James Cook-esque upside if he falls in the right landing spot. Johnson is a one-cut workhorse capable of being a bell-cow option with reliable hands and good vision. Henderson rounds things out with elite vision and burst and might have the highest ceiling of the remaining three, but has struggled to stay on the field in college.
Wide Receivers
I won’t lie, I found some irony in Matthew Golden finishing with the fastest 40-yard dash time at the position, even though it was his college teammate, Isaiah Bond, who came into the day barking about how he would break the record. Golden is widely considered to be the second-best prospect in this year’s class behind Tetairoa McMillan of Arizona and ahead of Luther Burden III from Missouri.
Golden is an outstanding route runner who showed an uncanny knack for winning battles at the line of scrimmage right out of breaks, before exploding upfield. He has a slightly smaller frame at 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds but has consistently delivered against top-tier competition. A four-star recruit out of high school from the Houston area, Golden honed his craft as a 100-meter dash track star who also excelled at the triple jump.
Golden chose to stay around his hometown area initially, playing for the Houston Cougars during his first two years in college. Although his statistics were somewhat ho-hum (76 receptions for 988 yards over two years), his inconsistent usage was likely to blame. He sought greener pastures with the University of Texas during his junior season.
Golden and the aforementioned Bond formed a terrific 1-2 punch for the Longhorns’ passing attack on the outside, complete with Gunnar Helm at tight end. Golden’s ability to work past corners on vertical routes coupled with his elite body control and kick return talent have drawn comparisons to Chris Olave and John Metchie.
Additional Players to Note
The 2025 wideout class isn’t as deep as prior years, but there are still plenty of players with elite speed that caught my eye from the combine. More importantly? Unlike the last few years, which featured mainly undersized options and slot receivers, the 2025 draft has a multitude of options above 6-foot-2 who can play on the outside, capable of stepping into juicy roles for fantasy football purposes.
Take Jayden Higgins from Iowa State, for example. Working alongside Derek Brown (the conductor of his hype train) has made me admire Higgins, who has an impressive combination of size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and speed (he ran a 4.47 40-yard dash). His first two seasons with Eastern Kentucky were a mere appetizer to the insane statistics he finished with during his tenure at Iowa State, culminating in his 87/1,183/9 line last year as a senior. His fantastic agility, gargantuan-sized catch radius and body control on contested passes make him a gamble worth considering on Day 2 for most NFL teams.
Colorado State wideout Tory Horton also caught my eye after he ran a 4.41 time. This was after not playing football since mid-October with a knee injury that required surgery. Before the injury, Horton had accumulated 26 receptions for 353 yards in just five games for the Rams and was well on his way to setting career highs and shooting up draft boards.
At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Horton routinely obliterated zone defenses with his quick feet and sharp moves. He will need to improve his play against more physical corners and press coverage in the NFL.
Tight Ends
Terrance Ferguson (TE – Oregon)
Few players did more to help their draft stock at the Combine other than Terrance Ferguson, who ran the fastest 40 at the position with an impressive 4.63 mark. He also put up great numbers in the vertical jump (39 inches – finished in the 97th percentile) and 10-yard split (1.55 seconds – finished in the 93rd percentile).
Ferguson amassed 134 receptions for 1,537 yards and 16 touchdowns over his collegiate career, with most of those opportunities coming close to the line of scrimmage. At 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, Ferguson does his best work running as a slot option, capable of moving the chains but not generating chunk plays. He is a perfect safety blanket for a rookie quarterback looking to convert on third down, but not someone to build an offense around.
Although he is an adept route runner, Ferguson’s willingness to block and his play strength have been called into question, causing me to wonder if he will play as an Evan Engram-lite option. Most pundits have him pegged as a Day 2 selection worth taking a chance on for teams needing help at tight end.
Additional Players to Note
Top selections Tyler Warren (Penn State), Colston Loveland (Michigan) and Elijah Arroyo (Miami) all chose to skip the drill. I anticipate each player being selected higher in April. This is a deep class with several viable impact players and difference-makers.
Warren is the crown jewel of the bunch, and I’d be shocked if he was still on the board past Indianapolis, who selects 14th. A jack-of-all-trades player with a 6-foot-6 and 257-pound frame, think of him as a Taysom Hill with way more upside. Warren continually makes plays while being blanketed by defenders.
Even though he was the focal point of the Penn State offense in 2024, opposing defenses had no clue how to stop Warren from taking over games. For possessing such a large frame, Warren routinely makes defenders miss and sheds off contact easily.
Colston Loveland is a dynamic option who can line up anywhere on the field in the passing game to create a mismatch. A first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore, he somehow managed to take another step forward in his progression last year as a junior, catching 56 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns for the Wolverines.
Loveland isn’t a particularly astute blocker, but his receiving skills more than make up for any inadequacies and his overall skillset reminds me of Dalton Kincaid. His speed allows him to challenge cornerbacks and safeties up the seam and his size (6-foot-6, 248 pounds) makes him a serious mismatch defensive coordinators need to account for.
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