It may seem like we’ve barely gotten to breathe in the Spring Training air from Arizona and Florida, and still the NFL Combine is upon us. Like, this week. As always, it’s in Indianapolis, at Lucas Oil Stadium—home of the Colts. Among the many events NFL-hopefuls have in store is the 40-yard dash. It’s always been one of, if not the singular, most popular metric at the Combine, but, sometimes, it proves to be plenty useful. Potential rookies and fantasy football assets all will dig deep and try to clear the vaunted 4.40 threshold in their 40-yard dash times. Having said that, 4.40 isn’t even close to where the current 40-yard dash record stands.
Currently, the record 40-yard dash time is 4.21 seconds, and belongs to Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy, who just posted that time at last year’s Combine. His 40-yard time and his success on the field—none so spotlit as his big-play touchdowns during the NFL Playoffs—were obviously positively correlated.
Having said that, the previous record-holder, John Ross (4.22), was mostly a bust. He disappeared altogether after a few hopeful-but-flat campaigns with the Cincinatti Bengals and New York Giants.
So—can anyone post a 4.20? All the gardeners out there would sure love it. Let’s take a look at how the oddsmakers have this prop sized up.
Will anyone break Xavier Worthy’s 4.21 40-yard dash time at the 2025 NFL Combine?
2025 NFL Combine 40-yard Dash odds and lines
Currently, the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook have the line for the 40-yard dash speed set at 4.255 seconds, so oddsmakers think it’s unlikely anyone’s gunning for Worthy’s record. So unlikely, in fact, that the odds for anyone to break the record are firmly set at -700. See below.
To break a 4.21—especially with only a year between record times shifting—at the 2025 Combine would be a sure way to break the Internet, and might be akin in draft stock momentum to the DK Metcalf shirtless picture of yore.
I agree with the books here, 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.
Having said that, I’m not going anywhere near this bet, unless I’m parlaying it with some other Combine props.
