Research confirmed what I already knew and that there is no way to really tell. With this, a drill was born and almost 50 years later, it has become the center piece of info on a prospective high school, college or professional football player.The Dolphins did not sign Neal since his football background was quite limited. When teams do individual private workouts for teams, often times the scout has not brought the necessary tool to mark off the distance.Of course there are scores of reported 40 yard dash times that have made the rounds on the Internet. He would have no trouble making the list of the fastest players ever to play the game. Hayes has the fastest 100 meter time for an NFL player at 10.05.Football fans across America continue to obsess over the most simple drill in the game of football. However, the Vikings took a chance late in the first round and hoped that his insane talent (including his 4.25 40-yard dash time) would outweigh his baggage.Along with DeSean Jackson, the Eagles currently have the fastest team in the league.It took a gold medal-winning runner to prevent Dickerson from being the fastest man to suit up for the Rams.In two stints with the Los Angeles Rams that totaled seven seasons, Brown caught 98 passes for 1,791 yards and scored 13 times.On a 1990 Giants team that won Super Bowl XXV and featured more brute than zip, Dave Meggett was the contrast to Otis Anderson in the backfield.His graceful speed and agility (also displayed when he was a track star in college) helped earn him the nickname "Bambi. Here are some important things to know about the 40 yard dash:There’s also the chance that player’s will cheat the distance. Jackson has an official 10.39 time in the 100 meter dash in college.Just as sure as you get the question asked 1,000 times, you will get dozens of ridiculous answers. His long stride and quick step made him a fine track athlete at Stanford University.He attended LSU on a track scholarship and had to try out for the football team. $40.00. One year later, he reached the semifinals in the 100-meter event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.After an impressive time at the NFL combine, Ginn is trying to make sure that was no fluke on the playing field.It's safe to say the Broncos have been pleased with the exchange.A true speed demon, Gault was part of the 1985 club that won Super Bowl XX. But in those seasons, he regularly burned opponents at wide receiver and, more significantly, as a kick/punt returner.Prior to his pro football playing days, Gault was a multi-medal-winning track star. I never watched him run an actual 40-yard dash but after having to cover him in training camp, I am inclined to believe every second of Joey Galloway’s reported 4.18 forty yard dash.In my personal experiences, I have seen some sub 4.3 forty yard dashes in my time. Five years later, O.J. Now, thanks to his quickness, we all know what he can do.Nevertheless, his speed didn't diminish when he joined the Carolina Panthers via trade. "Bullet" Bob, during his athletic peak, was arguably the fastest man in the world. Those rank second and third, respectively, in the long history of the Packers.In the dark days of the Green Bay Packers, James Lofton was the lone bright spot. Green ran down from significant distances two of the fastest running backs to play in the NFL (Tony Dorsett and Eric Dickerson). An electronic beam also detects the player at the end point and stops the clock.There are plenty of practice fields across the country that have a slope. However, his tenure as a wide receiver didn't go nearly as well as his efforts on the track. Some are ridiculous like the 3.9’s attached to a couple of players and some 4 flats that were attached to some others.Remembering that .25 seconds must be subtracted from that time due to Accu-track timing and you come up with a 40 yard dash time of 3.93 seconds.
However, his 70 touchdowns and 20.0 yards per catch average are team records.A member of the NFL's All-Decade Team from the 2000s, Hall put together 12 return touchdowns and 12,397 total return yards—both still among the all-time leaders.A season-ending knee injury in 2007 has derailed what could have been a fine tenure as one of the NFL's top return men.But prior to his current stint in San Francisco, the former Ohio State star made himself one of the fastest players in football while with the Dolphins.Before being chosen eighth overall in the 1995 NFL draft, Galloway wowed each team with his fast moves.The East Carolina University product got off to a good start in the NFL when he tied the top mark for the fastest time in the 40-yard dash at the league's rookie combine (4.24 seconds) in 2008. The 2009 season proved to be a memorable one for Johnson, as he became just the sixth man in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards.His ability to scramble and shift into high gear is something that's never been seen before at his position. He set the world record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.08 seconds at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Some times you can’t be sure that the distance run was indeed 40 yards. Prior to this time period, NFL coaches chose the 50 yard dash as the mark of measure to determine a player speed worthiness.Like Green and Jackson, anyone who watched Sanders play would have little trouble believing that Sanders pulled off this feat.