Henry Ruggs III may not have run the fastest 40-yard dash in the history of the NFL combine, but he did set the mark for the fastest 10-yard split (first 10 yards of the sprint) among the top runners in the history of the event.
Among the ten top 40-times in the history of the combine, no player has been quicker to the 10-yard mark than Ruggs.
“Ruggs had a 1.43-second 10-yard split, the best acceleration in the class,” ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez wrote this week. “[Ruggs] has also hit 23 mph at Alabama on the Catapult tracking system, faster than any pro player ran at any point during the 2019 season, per NFL Next Gen Stats.”
For comparison’s sake, Tyreek Hill ran a 1.50 10-yard split at his pro day and even John Ross, who has the fastest 40 time in combine history, only ran a 1.49 10-yard split. The only player to match Ruggs at the combine was Chris Johnson, who ran a 1.43 in 2008.
So while Ruggs may have been disappointed that he didn’t break Ross’s record for the fastest-ever 40-time at the combine, he at least can have the satisfaction of knowing that none of the fastest combine runners have covered the first 10 yards faster.
Who knows what will become of his career in the NFL, but if Ruggs doesn’t end up as one of the top receivers in the league, it won’t be because of a lack of explosive ability. Surely you’ve seen this by now…
twitter: @raidersbeat
