40 yard dash

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 40 yard dash ( German  40 yard sprint , equivalent to 36.6 meters) is a common physical test in American football and Canadian football . It is used to determine the acceleration and speed of a player and can have a significant influence on the overall assessment of a player by coaches and managers. Although the sprint was previously only considered important for the “ running- intensive” positions such as running back , wide receiver or cornerback , it is now measured in all players.

In addition to the final times after 40 yards, the times after ten and twenty yards are usually measured. While the intermediate times are mainly used for the ability to accelerate, the end time is used for pure speed.

Times under 4.4 seconds are considered very fast in the NFL , but 4.6 seconds are also considered acceptable. Usually only linemen are 'allowed' to run for more than 5 seconds.

Best times

Record times in 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine through 2009

Since 40 yard dash times were measured by hand in the professional field (and continue to be measured by hand at amateur level), some of the information about previous players should be viewed critically. The fastest electronically recorded time in the 40 yard dash was the wide receiver John Ross in the NFL Combine in 2017 with 4.22 seconds. For comparison: the former world record holder in the 100-meter sprint , Maurice Greene , ran a time of 9.82 seconds at the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton . It took him 4.24 seconds for the first 40 yards. However, it should be noted that with the 40 yard dash, the reaction time is not included in the measured time, as the measurement is automatically associated with the start of the athlete. In the 100-meter sprint, the athlete still has to react. This response time is around 15 hundredths of a second on average.

It should be noted in these comparisons that football players are usually much taller and heavier than athletes. The aforementioned Maurice Green measures 1.76 meters and weighs 75 kilograms, while it is 1.80 meters (5`11) and 86 kilograms (190 lb) for John Ross. Also noteworthy in this context are the 4.35 seconds it took the 1.96 meter (6`5) tall and 109 kilogram (237 lb) Calvin Johnson to complete the 40 yard dash.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ COMBINE 101: THE BASICS BEHIND EACH PROSPECT DRILL. (No longer available online.) Canadian Football League, archived from the original on March 5, 2018 ; accessed on March 4, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Chris Mohr: Athletic Tests in American Football. functional-training-magazin.de, March 23, 2015, accessed on January 4, 2018 .
  3. ↑ John Ross breaks 40-yard dash combine record with 4.22 at NFL Scouting Combine. Retrieved January 15, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Maurice GREENE | Profiles | iaaf.org. Retrieved January 4, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Fastest 40 Yard Dash Time? In: SpeedEndurance.com. Retrieved January 24, 2008; Retrieved January 4, 2019 (UK English).
  6. ↑ John Ross. Retrieved January 4, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Calvin Johnson: Combine Stats at NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018 .