NFL’s Fastest 40-Yard Dash Times

No drill at the NFL combine draws more eyes and hype than the 40-yard dash. A player can be the best at his position, but run a poor 40 and see himself slide in the draft. They say you can’t teach speed, and the NFL is the league that puts this on display every year. The best 40 times in history are a mixture of some of the greatest players to ever take the field and some guys with names you probably have never seen. Some players had great careers after blazing through the 40, and some disappeared.

There have also been players who run abysmal 40s, but go on to become superstars. The NFL did not start electronically timing the 40-yard dash until the 2000 combine to ensure precise times. However, there are also players before 2000 who deserve recognition. So, this list will include both hand-recorded times on top of those electronically clocked after 2000. The hand-recorded times will be questioned obviously, but that is something we can debate forever as sports fans. Football is home to some of the fastest men on the planet and this list will help their legacies live on.

UPDATE: 2024/04/25 21:00 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

Every year, there are football players who show up at the NFL Combine and threaten to break records. That happened in 2024 when Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy showed up and blew the scouts away. The receiver broke John Ross’s 4.22 record that was set in 2017 by running a 4.21 40-yard dash. Of course, there were faster runners in the past, but the records have only been on the NFL Combine performances since 2000, so Woods is now the fastest 40-yard Combine runner in NFL history — as far as the record book is concerned.

25 Darrius Heyward-Bey, Yamon Figurs, Darrent Williams, Tye Hill

4.30 Seconds

Four football players ran a 4.30 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Darrius Heyward-Bey is the biggest name here as he has had the longest career and retired after the 2018 season. He played for the Oakland Raiders, who made him their first-round pick in 2009, and then moved on to the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers, finishing his career with 202 receptions for 2,897 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Figurs was drafted in the third round by the Baltimore Ravens, but bounced around teams and eventually fell out of the league. Darrent Williams was drafted in the second round by the Denver Broncos but was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting after just two seasons. Tye Hill was a first-round pick by the then St. Louis Rams and excelled early. However, he eventually battled injuries and fell off.

24 Fabian Washington, Trindon Holliday, Laveranues Coles, Gaston Green, Jay Hinton

4.29 Seconds

Laveranues Coles and Trindon Holliday highlight this group, but neither became major NFL stars. Coles was a solid receiver for the New York Jets for most of his career and had two seasons where he ranked in the top 10 in receptions and receiving yards. Holliday is mostly known for his return duties. In 2013, Holiday returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown in the playoffs, the longest such return in postseason history at that time.

Gaston Green had a 1,000-yard season for the Broncos, but only played in the NFL for five years and left the NFL after the 1992 season. Fabian Washington played for five years and recorded six interceptions playing for the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. Jay Hinton went undrafted in 1999, proving that a great 40-yard Combine time does not guarantee a spot on an NFL team.

23 Raghib Ismail, C.J. Spiller, Champ Bailey, Kevin Williams

4.28 seconds

Champ Bailey is the star of this group of speedsters, as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2019. Over his career, he played for the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos and finished his career with 52 interceptions and an NFL-record 203 passes defended. Someone else who was a huge star was Raghib Ismail, nicknamed “Rocket” for his speed. He finished his career with 363 receptions for 5,295 yards and 28 touchdowns.

C.J. Spiller also had a very good career, although he faded quickly after leaving the Buffalo Bills. He had one 1,000-yard rushing season in his career. Kevin Williams played with the Dallas Cowboys and served as their slot receiver alongside Michael Irvin for two Super Bowl wins over his career.

22 Jacoby Ford, James Jett, Darren McFadden, Devin Hester, Stanford Routt, Marquise Goodwin

4.27 Seconds

The biggest name in this grouping of players is Darren McFadden. The Raiders drafted him with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, and he went on to play for 10 seasons with the Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys. He finished with two 1,000-yard rushing seasons and 28 total touchdowns over his career. Jacoby Ford was another Raider, this time a wide receiver. However, he only played for three seasons before he left football.

Marquis Goodwin is a former Olympic long jumper and has played for five teams over his NFL career. Stanford Routt played for the Oakland Raiders for seven seasons as a defensive player, but only started 60 games over his career, although he did have 12 interceptions by the time he retired. Devin Hester is the best known player here as he is arguably the greatest return-man in NFL history and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

21 Dri Archer

4.26 Seconds

All eyes were on Archer at the 2014 NFL Combine because some thought he could possibly break Chris Johnson’s record of a 4.24 40-yard dash, which he set at the 2008 NFL Combine. Archer came very close to breaking that record but fell a little short. His performance there helped raise his draft stock though. He earned himself a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers by posting a 4.26 40-yard time.

However, he only spent two seasons with the team before he was released. He had stops with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills but did nothing big in his NFL career. He was out of the NFL by 2016 and only ran for 40 yards in his career.

20 Jerome Mathis

4.25 Seconds

Mathis was a fourth-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. He was actually named to the Pro Bowl as a returner in his rookie year, joining only Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers and Lofa Tatupu as the only three rookies to make the Pro Bowl that year. Unfortunately, he fractured his foot in that game and missed an extended time to begin the next season.

After that injury, his career took a tumble as he eventually found himself in the CFL. He finished his career there playing for the Toronto Argonauts and then played for one season in the Arena Football League in 2011.

19 Michael Vick

4.25 Seconds

Michael Vick was on his way to an NFL Hall of Fame career when off-the-field troubles saw him end up in jail and his NFL career ended up put on pause. When he came back, he was still good, but he had lost his momentum and ended up as just a player who could have been something special. While playing, Vick was one of the most athletic, explosive quarterbacks the league has ever seen.

His speed was unreal, and as a good quarterback, that made him one of the deadliest players in the NFL. He threw for 22,464 yards in his career with 133 touchdowns. However, even more impressive were his rushing totals. As a quarterback, Vick ran for 6,109 yards and 36 touchdowns and even had a year when he ran for over 1,000 yards.

18 Randy Moss

4.25 Seconds

Another Hall of Famer was also one of the fastest football players coming out of college with a 4.25 40-yard NFL Combine time. Arguably one of the greatest receivers of all time, Randy Moss combined elite speed with size to make him an absolute nightmare for defensive backs. How can anyone cover a guy who has over five inches on them and can run faster than almost any defender.

Moss was a once-in-a-generation kind of talent. He won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and then the NFL Comeback Player of the Year nine years later. He was a six-time Pro Bowl pick, a five-time receiving touchdowns leader, and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. Moss also teamed up with Tom Brady and made the Hall of Fame quarterback even better.

17 Taylor Mays

4.24 Seconds

Taylor Mays had a disappointing NFL career after he impressed everyone at the NFL Combine. He dominated college football as a safety at USC by combining his blazing speed with a hard-hitting mentality. However, as the NFL quickly showed, he couldn’t cover anyone on the field. Mays’ game did not translate to the NFL after being selected in the second round by the 49ers in 2010.

He found some playing time for the Bengals for three seasons but didn’t do much of anything of note and ended up playing one season in the CFL. He did find a career path after the NFL, though. He is currently the USDC secondary players coach under head coach Lincoln Riley.

16 Rondel Menendez

4.24 Seconds

Menendez was drafted in the seventh round by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1999 draft. He burst on the scene with a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown in a preseason game against the Lions, but that is all there really is to say about his career.

In the final preseason game of that season, he tore his meniscus and would then jump around a few different teams, but not finding anything serious. He ended up on a team in Europe, playing for the Frankfort Galaxy when the NFL was working with the U.K. to bring the sport to more eyes with NFL Europe.

15 Chris Johnson

4.24 Seconds

Chris Johnson was at one point one of the most explosive and exciting running backs in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans drafted him in the first round after he broke the 40-yard dash record at the 2008 combine. That record remained until 2017. Johnson’s best year came in 2009 when he rushed for 2,006 yards and broke Marshall Faulk’s single-season yards from scrimmage record with 2,509, earning him the nickname “CJ2K” and Offensive Player of the Year.

After starting to falter in Tennessee, he went on to play for the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, although he never could find the same magic he had early in his career with Tennessee. He retired in 2017 after signing a one-day contract to ensure he retired as a Titan.

14 Willie Parker

4.23 Seconds

Willie Parker is a feel-good story. After going undrafted in 2004, he earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was a backup his rookie season. The next season, however, Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley were both battling injuries, so Parker got his chance to start and never looked back. He ended up going to two Pro Bowls, owns the longest run in a Super Bowl, and has two rings with the Steelers.

Parker also had three 1,000-yard rushing seasons over his career. However, the arrival of Rashard Mendenhall is what ultimately pushed Parker out of Pittsburgh. He retired in 2012 after a short stint with the Redskins.

13 Donte Stallworth

4.22 Seconds

Donte Stallworth played 10 seasons in the NFL after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round in 2002. Even though he played 10 seasons, he never proved to be a number-one guy in any of those years. That is why he has played for five different teams, always as a secondary target in every offense he competed in.

He never broke 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. He did come close in 2005 when he caught 70 balls for 945 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 4,837 yards receiving in his career to go with 35 touchdowns.

12 John Ross

4.22 Seconds

Similar to Dri Archer, everyone had their eyes glued to John Ross at the 2017 combine because there was a chance he would break Chris Johnson’s 40-yard dash record of 4.24 seconds. He went on to break the record by posting a 4.22. That blazing-fast time resulted in him getting drafted as the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

After one season, it appeared the Bengals made a mistake. Ross touched the ball once in his rookie season on a rushing play where he fumbled and never saw the field again. He ended up with 51 receptions over the next three seasons, with his best year only netting 506 yards and three touchdowns. He moved on to the New York Giants in 2021, where he only caught 11 passes. He went to the Kansas City Chiefs and ended up retiring before playing a game for them.

11 Xavier Worthy

4.21 Seconds

In 2024, a new man put their name at the top of the 40-yard dash record books at the NFL Combine. While many more people ran faster, that was before the NFL kept official records. When it comes to the NFL’s fastest runner officially, the Texas Longhorns’ wide receiver Xavier Worthy broke the record that John Ross set in 2017 with his 4.21 time in the 40.

There is no telling how Worthy’s career will look in the NFL, but someone will give him a chance to star in their lineup and see if he can do better than Ross, who flamed out after a few short years.

10 Don Beebe

4.21 Seconds

Don Beebe will forever be known for the play where he was running for a touchdown, only to hold the ball out and have it slapped out of his hands by the Dallas Cowboys Leon Lett as he closed in on the goal line. What made this moment so big was that it was in the Super Bowl. Beebe played in four straight Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills — although the team lost every single one of those championship appearances.

However, Beebe had a great career without considering that one notorious moment. He had 2019 total receptions in his career for 3,416 yards and 23 touchdowns and was a big part of the Bills winning four straight AFC Championship titles.

9 Kevin Curtis

4.21 Seconds

The St. Louis Rans drafted Kevin Curtis in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. In 2004, Curtis caught four passes for 107 yards in a playoff victory over the Seahawks, a game where the Rams became the first team to win a playoff game with a losing record. The next week, Curtis caught seven passes for 128 yards and a touchdown after burning DeAngelo Hall of the Atlanta Falcons.

He had some huge games in his career, but eventually battled some nagging injuries that kept him off the field more than on. His best season came in 2007, when he caught 77 passes for 1110 yards and six touchdowns with the Philadelphia Eagles.

8 Deion Sanders

4.21 Seconds

Primetime Deion Sanders is a legend of the NFL for both his fantastic play and his flashy style to pair with it. His signature high-step into the end zone is something players still do today. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 and won two Super Bowls in back-to-back seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He was the first player to ever be called a “shutdown cornerback” (53 interceptions) and was also one of the best kick returners in NFL history (nine return touchdowns).

While Sanders was definitely more successful in football, he was no slouch on the baseball diamond as well. He also played professional baseball for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He even led the league in triples in 1992, which shows how fast he was. He famously said, “Football is my wife and baseball is my mistress.” He is now a head football coach for the Colorado Buffalos where he is now known as Coach Prime.

7 Terrell Sinkfield

4.19 Seconds

Terry Sinkfield went undrafted in 2013 out of Northern Iowa. He has been on numerous NFL rosters, but never played a regular season NFL game. He also had some stops in the CFL, playing for the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger Cats, and BC Lions. He tried an NFL cornerback with the New York Jets and later the New York Giants, but never made it into the regular season for either team.

Sinkfield is probably the least-known NFL Combine success story since that didn’t carry over into an NFL career. He does have 86 catches for 1,240 yards and 7 touchdowns in his CFL career. His speed is a great fit for the CFL’s wider and longer field.

6 Joey Galloway

4.18 Seconds

Joey Galloway was the eighth overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He played 16 seasons for the Seahawks, Cowboys, Buccaneers, Patriots, Steelers, and Redskins. He played his best ball while on the Redskins, as he posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons in 2005-07. After 2007, however, there was a huge dip in his numbers, and they would never return.

A foot injury caused him to miss time, but he still signed with the Patriots after the Buccaneers. He never saw much more production though and ended up as a backup. He now works as an analyst for ESPN.