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Fastest 40-yard Dash Times in NFL Combine History: Top 10 receivers

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Nick Geddes | Last updated Feb 26, 2025 4:05 PM ET

The marquee event at the NFL Scouting Combine is, and always will be, the 40-yard dash.

While not necessarily an indicator of future success, the 40-yard dash has helped improve or in some cases, hurt prospects’ NFL Draft stock. Receivers have provided some of the most memorable moments of the 40-yard dash; let’s take a look at the top 10 40-yard dash times by wideout prospects in the history of the Combine.

You can view an overview of the fastest times in history here, regardless of position.

1. X avier Worthy – Texas: 4.21 in 2024

Worthy set an overall combine record last year when he posted a 4.21 40-yard dash. Even before he ran, we knew Worthy was fast; this just proved he’s in a tier of his own. Worthy went 28th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs, hauling in 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns this past season.

2. John Ross – Washington: 4.22 in 2017

Sam Greene, Cincinnati Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Before Worthy, there was Ross, who broke a Combine record in 2017. The Cincinnati Bengals went all-in on Ross, taking him seventh overall. Nearly eight years later, that pick has gone down as one of the more questionable in NFL history. Over the course of his career with the Bengals, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, he has 63 receptions for 963 yards and 11 touchdowns.

T3. Two players with 4.27 40-yard dash

Henry Ruggs III – Alabama: 4.27 in 2020
Marquise Goodwin – Texas: 4.27 in 2013

Ruggs was a burner at Alabama, and further showed that to be true at the Combine. The Las Vegas Raiders took Ruggs 12th overall, but his NFL career lasted just 20 games. Ruggs is currently serving a 3-10-year prison sentence in Nevada for driving drunk at 156 mph and crashing into a car killing a woman and her dog in November 2021.

Goodwin enjoyed a solid 10-year career with five teams, recording 191 receptions for 3,090 yards and 18 scores.

T5. Three players with 4.28 40-yard dash

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Tyquan Thornton – Baylor: 4.28 in 2022
J.J. Nelson – UAB: 4.28 in 2015
Jacoby Ford – Clemson: 4.28 in 2010

Thornton has yet to live up to his second-round status and the New England Patriots waived him midway through the 2024 season. With just 385 yards across 28 games, Thornton will get another opportunity in Kansas City this season.

Nelson, a small school standout, put himself on the map back in 2015 when he ran a 4.28. A fifth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals, Nelson played 58 games in the NFL, compiling 85 catches for 1,475 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Ford had a highly productive career at Clemson, but he struggled to carry that over in the NFL. Despite his speed, Ford found himself out of the league by 2015 before bouncing around the CFL. Ford’s NFL career: 38 games, 57 catches, 848 yards, three scores.