Don’t Overlook a Running Back’s 10-Yard Split in the 40-Yard Dash
It is Combine Time!! I know you degenerates are out there watched the combine trying to soak up all this information. 40-yard dashes, bench presses, 3 cone drills, weigh ins, semi accurate heights, and a whole bunch more. We get a bevy of information in a short amount of time. Are these results from these workouts overblown? Of course. Do they play a role in the draft process even though they are overblown? Of course. Let’s take a look at what I consider the most over-looked result from the combine.
The 40-yard dash is the marquee event. Everyone knows it. It is must see television. NFL executives, scouts, draft prognosticators, talking heads, fans, and degenerates like us turn in to see these young men and Rich Eisen run as fast they can. They have been training for this event more than any other. But the question I always came away asking was how many times a season that a player runs 40 yards in a straight line? The number that I found was 58 times during the regular season a rush went for over 40 yards. There are 272 games during the season. That means we see a 40-yard rush once every 4.6 games. That’s not a whole lot. But yet we marvel when these young running backs cover 40 yards in under 4.4 seconds.
The number that I am most interested in for the running backs is the 10-Yard Split. This is just first 10 yards of the 40-yard dash. With this number you can see football speed. You see how fast a player can get up to speed. Football players are forced to explode in and out of their breaks. They need to be able to change directions as fast as humanly possible. And the 10-Yard Split shows how fast players can cover ground on a normal football play. Not a play that occurs once every 4.6 games.
Anything under a 1.55 is a good time in the 10-Yard Split for running backs. Here is this year’s Top 5:
Keaton Mitchell (East Carolina 5’8″) 1.48
Devon Achane (Texas A & M 5’9″) 1.51
Bijan Robinson (Texas 5’11”) 1.52
Roschon Johnson (Texas 6’0″) 1.52
Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama 5’9″) 1.52
Context matters, just like with everything else that happens at the combine. Draft capital, examining the ball carrier’s situation, and your individual scouting should lead what running backs you draft in the upcoming rookie drafts. Bijan Robinson is the number one overall back. Followed by Jahmyr Gibbs. But after that? Who knows. Me personally? I am going to look at when Keaton Mitchell, Devon Achane, and Roschon Johnson are drafted. I am going to do a little additional scouting on them. All because the 10-Yard Split made them interesting.
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