The Alabama Crimson Tide held its “Pro Day II” on Thursday morning, and running back Trent Richardson was the main attraction. Richardson has been recovering from a January knee scope.
We know the projected top-10 pick ran the forty-yard dash twice.
But we don’t really know what his forty time was.
It was repeatedly said on SportsCenter Thursday that Richardson registered “a 4.4 forty.” NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks clocked Richardson “in the 4.45 to 4.49 range.” The times relayed by ESPN3’s live broadcast were 4.58 and 4.58, “unofficially.” In his Pro Day review, SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline wrote that Richardson “failed to run an elite 40 time.”
While there was no consensus on Richardson’s forty time, he did 25 reps of 225 pounds on the bench and told ESPN’s Merril Hoge following the workout that he was “mad” he didn’t run a 4.3.
Working in Richardson’s favor is the fact that (most) teams don’t make draft choices based strictly on forty times. They watch the game tape, and Richardson’s is very, very good.
Richardson has pre-draft private workouts set up with the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Bucs. He is considered likely to be drafted either by the Browns at No. 4 or Bucs at No. 5.