{"id":18848,"date":"2013-04-03T22:03:36","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T02:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=18848"},"modified":"2013-04-04T06:52:26","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T10:52:26","slug":"are-nfl-prospects-40-yard-dash-times-overvalued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2013\/04\/03\/are-nfl-prospects-40-yard-dash-times-overvalued\/","title":{"rendered":"Are NFL Prospects 40 Yard Dash Times Overvalued"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NFL<\/a>In the weeks leading up the 2013 NFL Draft much has been made about certain NFL prospects 40-yard dash times.\u00a0 It’s understood that the 40-yard dash is a good measure of overall speed and ability to maintain a speed throughout a lengthy run.\u00a0 It is also used because the average football play is between 4-5 seconds which is where most players’ 40-times will fall during their combine or pro day workouts.<\/p>\n

The NFL and scouts have made this test much more accurate over the past 2 years, having agreed to use a\u00a0fully automated\u00a0system to time each athlete.\u00a0 The test has evolved from humans timing both the start and finish, to later having an automated timer at the start and humans clocking the finish and now a fully automated timer.\u00a0 The problem that the committee in charge of testing found was this new fully automated timing system took the luster away from player’s posting amazing results.\u00a0 The newer automated system provided more accurate and consistent times then the potentially flawed human timing.\u00a0 Often a player’s time was significantly higher up to 0.28 seconds above what scouts had recorded via handheld stop watches.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the NFL is using fully automated timing devices along with two humans clocking the start and stop finding an average of all three.\u00a0 Should an average time be used in a drill that so many team scouts value as a “make or break” drill at the combine?\u00a0 If this drill is so important, why do players run them two times each at the combine and\/or pro day never running it again during their professional careers?\u00a0 All of these questions are enough reason to say that the 40 yard dash test is overvalued in the NFL.<\/p>\n

The most important part of this test is the first 10 yards.\u00a0 It’s all about the start, stance and the first two steps of the drill.\u00a0 Often times, athletes will burst out of their stance only to be stopped by a scout because they either false started or never got fully set before running.\u00a0 This first 10 yards can make all the difference in a player’s total time.\u00a0 If an athlete can decrease their time in the 10 yard dash they can lower their overall time as a whole.\u00a0 In fact, as you get to 30 yards in this drill, athletes tend to slow down due to the fact that they are standing virtually upright and lunging towards the end of the drill.\u00a0 Therefore, by making the first 10 yards quicker and getting to top speed faster, the athlete could actually decrease their time.<\/p>\n

Since all scouts know that this is the case, why don’t they put more emphasis on the 10 yard split rather than the 40 yard?\u00a0 How often in an NFL game will a player run 40 yards in a straight line?\u00a0 Wouldn’t 10 yards be more game realistic?\u00a0 Anytime a player has a poor 40 yard dash time scouts say, “Trust the tape.”\u00a0 They say this because these players have game speed that’s important for their position.\u00a0 For instance, a defensive end or outside linebacker will almost never run a direct straight line for 40 yards unless they’re picking up a fumble and running it back.\u00a0 They’re more likely to run 10 yards to the QB\u00a0and then have to change direction to make a play.\u00a0 This\u00a0is the reason scouts tell the media to “trust the tape.”<\/p>\n

A lot has been made of Manti Te’o’s poor 40 yard time at the combine, but showed improvement\u00a0the 2nd time.\u00a0 Is this the reason he’s now being put in the 15-25th pick overall\u00a0range again in most mock drafts?\u00a0\u00a0A player who had 7 interceptions and 113 tackles<\/a>\u00a0should be in this range in the first place.\u00a0 After the NFL scouting combine people were saying he could go as low as the middle of round 2.<\/p>\n

Jarvis Jones<\/a> ran an “unimpressive” 4.9 second 40 yard dash at his pro day and his stock has dropped because of it.\u00a0 Have these scouts taken into consideration the fact that he has 28 sacks in his last 2 seasons in the country’s best conference, the Southeastern Conference (SEC)?\u00a0 He by far had the most sacks of any of the prospects at his position in this year’s draft.\u00a0 There is concern about his Spinal Stenosis issues of the past but was given a clean bill of health after several doctors examinations.\u00a0 Some may wonder, if he is fully healthy then why did he run a 4.9 40 yard dash at the Georgia Pro Day?<\/p>\n

Terrell Suggs had terrible test results during his pro day workout at Arizona State.\u00a0 He ran a 4.85 when scouts thought he’d run a lot better. \u00a0He was supposed to be a Top 3 overall pick.\u00a0 He “fell” to the Ravens at 10th overall because of his pro day.\u00a0 How’d he pan out for the Ravens?\u00a0\u00a085 sacks and 7 interceptions<\/a> and is arguably still in his prime.<\/p>\n

Anquan Boldin ran a 4.8 second 40 yard dash, Jerry Rice ran a 4.7, and even Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best WR in the game today ran a 4.63 on his 40 yard dash.\u00a0 All three have been pretty solid professional receivers and no one would argue that.\u00a0 Keyshawn Johnson (who ran a 4.47 40 yard\u00a0dash)\u00a0had a great quote about speed and the 40 yard dash results.\u00a0 He said “It’s not how fast a player is going forward, it’s how fast they can stop, change direction, and create space.”\u00a0 All the more proof that there’s too much overhype on the results of a 40 yard dash pre-draft.<\/p>\n

A lot of factors can affect how an athlete runs this test.\u00a0 Running this test, like most of the other combine tests is all about technique and mechanics.\u00a0 It’s more of a science than most people think.\u00a0 Some things that can affect an athlete’s times are as follows:<\/p>\n