The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine starts Thursday, with 329 prospects set to undergo medical testing, attend interviews and perform drills — all in an effort to convince teams they are worthy of being selected in this year’s draft.
While there are several drills that everyone will watch, there’s not a single one that gets more attention or eyeballs than the 40-yard dash. Last year, Xavier Worthy set the combine record after running it in a blazing 4.21 seconds.
The Kansas City Chiefs ended up selecting him with the 28th overall pick, and in his rookie season he became a deep-threat target for Patrick Mahomes, capping his season off with a whopping 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Super Bowl LIX.
This got us thinking, what are the 10 fastest 40-times in NFL Combine history — and who ran them? Several Hall of Famers have claimed to have run record-breaking times, but electronic timing was not used in the combine until 1999. This is what is commonly understood as “combine history” for the 40-yard dash, and what we’ve used to identify the top 10.
Let’s take a look:
Top 10 fastest 40 times in NFL Scouting Combine history
T-10. Stanford Routt: 4.27 seconds
Coming out of Houston, Routt ran a 4.27 at the 2005 combine and became a second round pick by the Raiders because of it. He spent seven years in Oakland, starting 60 games and playing in 110 at cornerback, recording 10 interceptions and 244 total tackles. In his last season in the league, he spent time with both the Chiefs and the Texans and would grab two more interceptions to give him 12 in his career.
T-10. Marquise Goodwin: 4.27 seconds
A true speedster out of Texas, Goodwin ran a 4.27 at the 2013 combine and went on to be drafted in the third round by the Bills. He spent 11 seasons in the league and put up 3,023 receiving yards along with 18 touchdown catches on 187 receptions. His best season came with the 49ers in 2017, recording 962 receiving yards and serving as a legitimate deep-threat for San Francisco. Why is he a true speedster? Goodwin is a decorated track athlete, running the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and becoming a 2012 Olympic qualifier for Team USA in the long jump.
T-10. Henry Ruggs III: 4.27 seconds
After a prolific career as a wide receiver at Alabama, Ruggs III ran a 4.27 at the 2020 combine. The Raiders would go on to draft him in the first round with the 12th overall pick. In two seasons, he’d put up 921 receiving yards with four touchdown catches in 20 games played.
T-6. Jerome Mathis: 4.26 seconds
Mathis, another track star, was a six-time state champion in high school at both the indoor and outdoor level. He took his talents to Hampton, where he set an NCAA record for kick return average and career kickoff returns for touchdowns with six. The Texans would go on to take him in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons in the league and in 2005 was named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro as a return specialist.
T-6. Dri Archer: 4.26 seconds
Archer ran a 4.26 at the 2014 combine and went on to be drafted in the third round by the Steelers. A product of Kent State, he was a consensus All-American running back there in 2012 and spent two seasons with Pittsburgh. Like Mathis, he was primarily a return specialist, putting up 515 return yards combined in 2014 and 2015 for Mike Tomlin.
The first player on our list who is still currently playing, Woolen ran a 4.26 at the 2022 combine and was drafted in the fifth round by the Seahawks out of UTSA. He quickly became an impact player, starting for Seattle at cornerback and going on to lead the league in interceptions and making the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. In three seasons, he’s started in 46 games with 11 interceptions and 41 pass deflections.
A second-round pick by the Bengals in 2023, Turner ran a 4.26 at the combine and has since started in 18 games at cornerback for Cincinnati. He spent four years at Michigan where he was an All-Big Ten selection in 2022. In 28 NFL career games, he has 15 pass deflections, 79 total tackles, three tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
T-4. Rondel Menendez: 4.24 seconds
As mentioned earlier, the combine only started using electronic timing in 1999, which makes Menendez’s feat even more noteworthy. In the first year of this new technology, the Eastern Kentucky wide receiver set the combine record with a run of 4.24 seconds. He was drafted in the seventh round and took a 63-yard punt back in a preseason game against the Lions. However, he would tear his ACL shortly after, which ultimately ended his career.
T-4. Chris Johnson: 4.24 seconds
Before “CJ-2K” ran for 2,000 yards with the Titans, he was turning heads at the 2008 combine with his record-tying 40-yard dash of 4.24 seconds. The Eastern Carolina product went on to be one of the greatest running backs of his era, accumulating 9,651 rushing yards and 64 total touchdowns in 10 seasons in the NFL. Tennessee drafted him with the 24th overall pick, with him earning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors the year after, along with three Pro Bowl selections and one First Team All-Pro nod.
3. Kalon Barnes: 4.23 seconds
Barnes’ speed has been documented since his high school days, having run a wind-aided 10.04 in the 100-meter dash as a senior in 2018. He’d go on to spend four seasons at Baylor where he played cornerback before going on to be drafted in the seventh round by the Panthers in 2022. Barnes has been on several practice squads since, most recently being cut by the Steelers in August 2024. In December 2024, he signed with the UFL’s San Antonio Brahamas.
2. John Ross: 4.22 seconds
A receiver out of Washington, Ross was an All-American in 2016 and had a lot of buzz around his athletic ability heading into the 2017 combine. He didn’t disappoint, as he broke the record held by Johnson and Menendez with a time of 4.22 seconds. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him for most of his career, but he still played six seasons and recorded 963 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches. He was most recently a member of the Eagles in 2024 but was cut in December 2024.
People knew Worthy was fast going into the combine, but it was unclear if he had record-breaking speed — but then he ran.
His first run was a 4.25, and then it became apparent he had a legitimate shot at breaking the record. On his second run, he did just that, clocking in a jaw-dropping 4.21. Andy Reid must’ve taken notice, as the Chiefs would go on to draft him with the 28th overall pick and make him an integral part of their offense. Worthy set Super Bowl rookie records for receiving yards (157) and touchdowns (two). He’s just the fourth rookie in Super Bowl history to record 100 receiving yards and the first to go for 150.
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