APMississippi State’s Darius Slay is officially the fastest defensive back at this year’s Scouting Combine.
When the official 40-yard dash times came out, Slay’s 4.36-second 40 stood as the fastest, just edging out Alabama’s Dee Milliner, who was clocked at 4.37 seconds. Washington’s Desmond Trufant was timed at 4.38 seconds, while Southeast Louisiana’s Robert Alford and Boise State’s Jamar Taylor were both timed at 4.39.
NFL Network gave Steve Williams of Cal an unofficial time of 4.25 seconds, but that turned out to be a mirage: His official time was 4.42 seconds. A 4.42-second 40-yard dash is still very fast, but several defensive backs are faster than Williams.
It’s also important to note that differences in the hundredths of a second need to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s possible for the timing to be off by a hundredth of a second here or there, and also possible that the difference in a hundredth of a second just means one guy is faster than another at getting out of a sprinter’s stance — the kind of stance that no NFL defensive back ever lines up in on the field.
In any event, Slay will get some attention for being the fastest defensive back in the bunch this year. But it’s really Milliner, who entered the Combine as the top cornerback prospect, who has firmed up his status: There are questions about all the other cornerbacks, but there’s no question now that Milliner is a Top 10 pick.
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Is it April yet? Hate this time of year.
Okay….. where are these “unofficial” times coming from? They aren’t even CLOSE this year.
why don’t they electronically time BOTH the start and finish instead of relying on hand timing the start?
don’t they have the technology to like make it a 50 yard dash and only time the last 40 yards to eliminate sprinter stance bias? anyone running in a straight line at their top speed in a game has at least a 10 yard start anyway.
A lot of people don’t realize the technique involved in running the 40. I literally shaved off .7 of a second off my time once the coach told me about the whole stance thing and how to come out of it.
The 40 should be at a standing start, kinda like when they actually play the game.
I want the Eagles to get Milliner.
Get rid of Nnamdi and DRC, and take Milliner and Marsh/Hughes at starter, with Boykin in the slot.
Second round pick on S or OL. Go for a NT in 3 or 4. The rest is gravy.
This is incorrect. I’m watching this live on NFL network and Milliner had the best DB 40 time at 4.31
I never understand why they don’t just go to electronic timings, just like pretty much any other running sport event in the entire world. It would make it easier and be pretty much instantaneous.
But then, what would the Mayock and Eisen have to fill all that dead time with, now that they wouldn’t be able to speculate about fast times and possibly breaking CJ’s record?
Oh, that’s why they don’t change.
the 40 time alone did not help Dee Milliner. he was already top DB heading into the combine. His poor ball skill performance will make some teams question his ball skills. Cannot guarantee he is a top 10 draft pick, especially because there are several good DBs available in this draft. Teams have the ability to pass on a rd one DB and feel good about their chances of securing a good value pick in other rounds. Im a lions fan and will be upset if he goes #5 to lions. he argueably is a top 10 guy this year, but he sure isnt a top 5 guy
This kid has a pretty badass name.