Officially, Kent State running back Dri Archer ran the 40-yard dash in 4.26 seconds. Unofficially, he was even faster.
Per a league source, one scout timed Archer at 4.18 seconds in the 40.
While hardly scientific, the hand-timed result compares favorably with some of the legendary times generated before partial electronic timing was implemented in 2000. The start of the run is measured by hand; the conclusion is measured electronically.
Based on the old hand-timed numbers, the only players faster than Archer were Bo Jackson (4.12), Michael Bennett (4.13), Darrell Green (4.15), and Ahman Green (4.17).
Regardless of the specifics, Archer runs very fast. And while that’s just one piece of a much broader and convoluted puzzle, it’s always good to run very fast, especially for a running back.