The running backs have run at the combine, and none of them crushed it. In comparison to what we typically see at this event, in fact, they come in as below average.
Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook, who might all go in the top 20 picks of the draft, all clocked about 4.5 in the 40. That’s not terrible, but all we’re hoping to go about a tenth faster.
With Fournette, at least there’s the added dimension of him being a really big man. He weighed in at 240 pounds, and when a back that size is running 4.5, that’s an impressive combo – like a Jeremy Hill with more speed.
And all three of these backs have proven themselves at the college level. Both Cook and McCaffrey are run-catch backs with good vision and cutting ability.
Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon ran pretty similarly to these guys in recent years, and they both played well last year.
In this century, 27 running backs have run at the combine and also been selected in the the first round. All but five of those backs ran faster than all three of these prospects.
Other running backs have been chosen in the first round without running at the combine, but I am leaving them out, since their numbers become more wishy washy, as you try to account for guys running on different surfaces and being hand-timed. With the combine, it’s an apples-to-apples comparision.
| RUNNING BACKS AT THE COMBINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pk | Player | Time |
| 2008 | 24 | Chris Johnson | 4.24 |
| 2010 | 9 | C.J. Spiller | 4.28 |
| 2008 | 4 | Darren McFadden | 4.33 |
| 2010 | 30 | Jahvid Best | 4.34 |
| 2010 | 12 | Ryan Mathews | 4.37 |
| 2012 | 32 | David Wilson | 4.38 |
| 2001 | 27 | Michael Bennett | 4.38 |
| 2007 | 7 | Adrian Peterson | 4.40 |
| 2006 | 30 | Joseph Addai | 4.40 |
| 2008 | 23 | Rashard Mendenhall | 4.41 |
| 2001 | 23 | Deuce McAllister | 4.41 |
| 2000 | 31 | Trung Canidate | 4.41 |
| 2005 | 5 | Cadillac Williams | 4.43 |
| 2005 | 2 | Ronnie Brown | 4.43 |
| 2008 | 22 | Felix Jones | 4.44 |
| 2004 | 24 | Steven Jackson | 4.45 |
| 2012 | 31 | Doug Martin | 4.46 |
| 2009 | 27 | Donald Brown | 4.46 |
| 2008 | 13 | Jonathan Stewart | 4.46 |
| 2007 | 12 | Marshawn Lynch | 4.46 |
| 2001 | 5 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 4.46 |
| 2016 | 4 | Ezekiel Elliott | 4.47 |
| 2017 | ? | Dalvin Cook | 4.48 |
| 2017 | ? | Christian McCaffrey | 4.49 |
| 2009 | 12 | Knowshon Moreno | 4.50 |
| 2017 | ? | Leonard Fournette | 4.51 |
| 2015 | 15 | Melvin Gordon | 4.52 |
| 2009 | 31 | Beanie Wells | 4.52 |
| 2002 | 16 | William Green | 4.60 |
| 2011 | 28 | Mark Ingram | 4.62 |
—Ian Allan