Elite Combine Performances

With the NFL combine taking place this week in Indianapolis, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at elite level combine performances and see if they translate at all into elite NFL careers. To do this I will be looking at the top 40 yard dash times of NFL running backs at the combine over the past 10 years. It is thought throughout the league that the 40 time is a great indicator of a running backs ability to make a big play. Therefor I will go through the top 40 times of each season to see if there are indeed elite level players with elite level combine performances.
Data can be found at

2002: The only player of note with a top 5 40 time in 2002 was Ricky Williams with a time of 4.47 seconds. Williams has been a nice NFL player but would not be considered in the elite group of running backs. The top performer was Josh Scobey... who? Needless to say Scobey never became a house hold name.

2003: This year featured 0 players of note with a top 5 40 time. Justin Fargas ran the top time in 4.35 seconds, however his career in the NFL was very little.

2004: Michael Turner was the only player of note with an elite combine time in 2004, entering a time of 4.49, good enough for 4th that year. Turner has turned himself into elite back as he led the NFL in rushing yards in 2010 and 2011.

2005: Again no elite level players performed in the top 5 of the combine in 2005. There was a slew of mediocre running backs that performed well at this combine including; Carnell Williams, Ryan Grant and Ronnie Brown.

2006: Maurice Jones Drew ran the best time at the 2006 combine at 4.39 seconds and he is a player that can defiantly be considered elite. Jones is a 3 time Pro Bowler and has already ran for over 6000 yards in his career.

2007: The top performers at this combine all failed to make the NFL with the exception of Ahmad Bradshaw who has helped the Giants win 2 Super Bowls in his career. Bradshaw has always been a solid player but has never been an elite performer.

2008: 3 of the top 5 times performers in 2008 can be considered elite. Chris Johnson ran a 4.24 and was the NFL's offensive player of the year in 2009. Darren Mcfadden and Jamal Charles are also elite level players that would be ideal to have on your fantasy team.

2009: This combine features no elite level players with an elite level 40 time.

2010: This years class has a number of elite combine performers with the potential to become elite NFLers however they have yet to fully prove it. They are; C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mattews, Jahvid Best and Ben Tate.

2011: It is still too difficult to tell if any of these performers will become elite players. The only player who had a quality rookie season however was Demarco Murray.

After analyzing 50 players with elite 40 times I have determined that only 6 can be termed elite, which means the 40 time might not be as accurate as most scouts may believe.