We knew Jadeveon Clowney was an athletic freak. But we weren’t prepared for this.
Clowney, the former South Carolina defensive end who is widely regarded as the most talented player in this year’s draft, ran his first 40-yard dash in an unofficial time of 4.47 seconds.
That time is insane for a defensive lineman. At last year’s Combine, the fastest 40 for a defensive lineman was 4.60 seconds. Two years ago, Bruce Irvin was considered a freakish athlete who propelled himself into the first round when he ran a 4.50-second 40 at 245 pounds. Clowney weighs 266 pounds.
Of course, the reality is that Clowney’s 40 time doesn’t matter all that much because anyone who has seen him play knew he was obscenely fast. If there are questions about Clowney, those questions are about whether he goes hard on every play, and whether he has the right work ethic on the practice field. There are no questions about Clowney’s speed.