As folks prepare to tune into the NFL Combine later this week to watch their favorite rookie-hopefuls forge through the gauntlet, all-time records are on everyone’s mind. Of course they are. What better way for a prospect to differentiate himself in Indianapolis with just weeks to go before the 2025 NFL Draft than to shatter ceilings? What better way, honestly, to go viral for a moment?
In preparing for the various events at the Combine—among them: bench press, broad jump, vertical jump, etc.—let’s just acknowledge that the sexiest is the 40-yard dash. The public wants lightning in a bottle. We’ll get to see it at Lucas Oil Stadium this week.
We did, in fact, see it just last year. The lightning bolt in the bottle, as it were. The all-time 40-yard dash record was set just last year at the 2024 NFL Combine.
Fastest 40-yard dash time in history
Currently, the record 40-yard dash time is 4.21 seconds, and belongs to Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy. He was a known speedster out of the University of Texas, and had a background in track and field. We all know what track-and-field backgrounds do for projected 40-yard dash times. It’s like hearing your favorite baseball player shed 25 pounds of fat in the offseason and showed up to Spring Training in the best shape of his life.
Except, while the baseball narrative sometimes fails to pan out, the correlation between a track-and-field pedigree and a blazing 40-yard dash speed is proven. Worthy’s a fine example. Prior to posting his time in Indianapolis, he had run the 100-meter in 10.28 seconds, which is, shall we say, zippity-quick.
As for the previous record-holder? John Ross, who posted a 4.22 40-yard dash, was mostly a bust. He disappeared altogether after a few hopeful-but-ultimately-clunker campaigns with the Cincinatti Bengals and New York Giants.
Can anyone break Worthy’s record?
I doubt it but I did write up one receiver in my Who will run the fastest 40-yard dash time at the 2025 NFL Combine? piece who might have the pedigree to give the record a run. Pun intended:
Arian Smith, WR, Georgia Bulldogs
If there’s anyone who has a shot to beat Xavier Worthy’s time of 4.21, it’s Smith. And, indeed—he has a track background to bolster this pedigree.
Some of his notable track accomplishments, as it relates to speed:
- Florida statewide winner in 200M dash
- 2019 Nike Elite Prefontaine Classic elite 100M (boys) winner
- Sub-10.20 100M dash time at Georgia University
Smith’s stats at Georgia in 2024—undeniably his best season—weren’t exactly gamebreaking, or even eye-popping: 48/817/4. But the marked increase between those numbers and his near-invisible 2023 have everything to do with his speed. His average yards at the catch last season was just a fraction below 20 yards per.
The track record(s)—quite literally, in this case—suggest the sort of athleticism and explosiveness that should come very close to clearing that 4.255 threshold; at which DraftKings Sportsbook currently has the fastest-time market set.
Note that Smith’s 100-meter time absolutely smoked Worthy’s. There’s that correlation again. It certainly makes the potential of a 4.20 40-yard time at the 2025 NFL Combine more intriguing. But, man—Smith would have to absolutely blitz.
