Most people who know about this stuff will tell you that running backs aren’t judged by their 40-yard dash times. A good example would be Josh Jacobs who ran a 4.60 40 at his Alabama Pro Day which wouldn’t have even been good enough for the 15 running backs at the combine. He was still the first running back taken in the draft and should have been Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Other drills, such as the 3-cone, are better indicators. The problem this year is most running backs didn’t participate in it. Perhaps because they feared they would be judged too harshly on their time, so they are holding off until their pro day to do it.
In total, just 11 running backs participated in the 3-cone, while all but perhaps those with injuries ran the 40. Let’s start with those, to at least give a size/speed ratio.
The winners in that category are Jonathan Taylor who ran a 4.39 40 with good size at 5-10, 226 pounds and AJ Dillon who has great size at 6-0, 247 pounds and ran an impressive 4.53 40. Despite being the heaviest back at the combine, Dillon had the highest vertical jump at 41 inches AND broad jump at 10-11. That’s crazy.
| Player | School | Height | Weight | 40 time |
| Salvon Ahmed | Washington | 5-11 | 197 | 4.62 |
| Cam Akers | Florida St. | 5-10 | 217 | 4.47 |
| Jet Anderson | TCU | 5-10 | 208 | 4.61 |
| LeVante Bellamy | Western Michigan | 5-9 | 192 | 4.50 |
| Eno Benjamin | Arizona State | 5-9 | 207 | 4.57 |
| Raymond Calais | Louisiana-Lafayette | 5-8 | 188 | 4.42 |
| DeeJay Dallas | Miami | 5-10 | 217 | 4.58 |
| AJ Dillon | Boston College | 6-0 | 247 | 4.53 |
| J.K. Dobbins | Ohio St. | 5-9 | 209 | — |
| Rico Dowdle | South Carolina | 5-11 | 213 | 4.54 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | LSU | 5-7 | 207 | 4.60 |
| Darrynton Evans | Appalachian St. | 5-10 | 203 | 4.41 |
| JaMycal Hasty | Baylor | 5-8 | 205 | 4.55 |
| Brian Herrien | Georgia | 5-11 | 209 | 4.62 |
| Tony Jones | Notre Dame | 5-10 | 220 | 4.68 |
| Joshua Kelley | UCLA | 5-11 | 212 | 4.49 |
| Javon Leake | Maryland | 6-0 | 215 | 4.65 |
| Benny LeMay | Charlotte | 5-8 | 221 | 4.75 |
| Anthony McFarland | Maryland | 5-8 | 208 | 4.44 |
| Zack Moss | Utah | 5-9 | 223 | 4.65 |
| Sewo Olonilua | TCU | 6-3 | 232 | 4.66 |
| La’Mical Perine | Florida | 5-11 | 216 | 4.62 |
| Scottie Phillips | Mississippi | 5-8 | 209 | 4.56 |
| James Robinson | Illinois St. | 5-9 | 219 | 4.64 |
| D’Andre Swift | Georgia | 5-8 | 212 | 4.48 |
| J.J. Taylor | Arizona | 5-5 | 185 | 4.61 |
| Jonathan Taylor | Wisconsin | 5-10 | 226 | 4.39 |
| Patrick Taylor | Memphis | 6-1 | 217 | 4.57 |
| Ke’Shawn Vaughn | Vanderbilt | 5-10 | 214 | 4.51 |
| Mike Warren | Cincinnati | 5-9 | 226 | — |
And here are the results for the rest of the drills:
| Player | School | Bench | 3-cone | Vert | Broad |
| Salvon Ahmed | Washington | — | — | 34.5 | 10-0 |
| Cam Akers | Florida St. | 20 | — | 35.5 | 10-2 |
| Jet Anderson | TCU | 19 | — | 36 | 10-8 |
| LeVante Bellamy | Western Michigan | 16 | — | 39.5 | 10-5 |
| Eno Benjamin | Arizona State | 12 | 6.97 | 39 | 10-2 |
| Raymond Calais | Louisiana-Lafayette | 20 | — | 37.5 | 10-0 |
| DeeJay Dallas | Miami | — | 7.18 | 33.5 | 9-11 |
| AJ Dillon | Boston College | 23 | 7.19 | 41 | 10-11 |
| J.K. Dobbins | Ohio St. | 23 | — | — | — |
| Rico Dowdle | South Carolina | — | — | 38 | 10-7 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | LSU | 15 | — | 39.5 | 10-3 |
| Darrynton Evans | Appalachian St. | 20 | — | 37 | 10-5 |
| JaMycal Hasty | Baylor | 15 | — | 39 | 10-3 |
| Brian Herrien | Georgia | 18 | 7.12 | 38.5 | 10-6 |
| Tony Jones | Notre Dame | 13 | 7.18 | 32.5 | 9-11 |
| Joshua Kelley | UCLA | 23 | 6.95 | 31 | 10-1 |
| Javon Leake | Maryland | — | — | 34 | 10-5 |
| Benny LeMay | Charlotte | 24 | — | 28.5 | 9-4 |
| Anthony McFarland | Maryland | — | — | 29.5 | 9-8 |
| Zack Moss | Utah | 19 | — | 33 | — |
| Sewo Olonilua | TCU | 25 | — | 36 | 10-3 |
| La’Mical Perine | Florida | 22 | 7.13 | 35 | 9-10 |
| Scottie Phillips | Mississippi | 29 | 7.40 | 30 | 9-6 |
| James Robinson | Illinois St. | 24 | 7.03 | 40 | 10-5 |
| D’Andre Swift | Georgia | — | — | 35.5 | 10-1 |
| J.J. Taylor | Arizona | 19 | 7.00 | 34.5 | 9-10 |
| Jonathan Taylor | Wisconsin | 17 | 7.01 | 36 | 10-3 |
| Patrick Taylor | Memphis | 15 | — | 34 | 10-3 |
| Ke’Shawn Vaughn | Vanderbilt | — | — | 32 | 9-9 |
| Mike Warren | Cincinnati | 16 | — | — | — |
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