He didn’t say when it happened, but former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson claims he ran a faster 40-yard dash than the 4.24 he finished with at the 2008 NFL Combine.
Johnson claims that faster time was clocked at 4.18, which is a ridiculously fast time.
Honestly I feel like players putting to much into getting ready for the 40 it’s only 40 yards just run fast!!!!! My fastest 40 was 4.18 by the way!!!!
— Chris Johnson (@ChrisJohnson28) February 29, 2020
Now, Johnson did not provide evidence, but based on how insanely fast he was during his playing days, we can’t rule it out.
Of course, Johnson once held the record for the fastest NFL Combine 40-yard dash time until it was broken by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross in 2017 (4.22).
Ross’ record run didn’t come without some controversy, though, and particularly from Johnson himself.
When appearing on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Johnson made his case that he should still be the record-holder.
“Still to this day, I don’t believe he beat it,” Johnson said in 2018. “When you look at the side by side, I pulled off on him at the end. And number two is, when has it ever took that long for the official time to come in?”
Indeed, when you look at Ross’ run when compared to Johnson’s using the following graphic, it looks like the former Titan was a step ahead of the receiver in their respective runs, as Titans Film Room pointed out on Twitter.
Like… what? pic.twitter.com/qo9ZQra4ll
— Titans Film Room (@titansfilmroom) February 28, 2020
If that yellow line is accurate, Johnson’s 40-yard dash was clearly faster, yet Ross still gets the nod as the record-holder.
Conspiracy!