John Ross broke the 40-yard dash record. How will he impact the Bengals offense?

The fastest player in NFL Combine history will be a welcomed addition for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals were a disaster on offense in Week 1, but luckily for them, they are expected to get the addition of the fastest player in the history of the draft process Thursday night. Wide receiver and first-round pick John Ross is active and expected to make his NFL debut for the Bengals after missing the team’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens due to a knee sprain.

Ross, 21, probably could’ve contributed and helped the Bengals offense during its 20-0 loss a week ago, but doctors kept him out as a precaution. But after participating in practice fully this week, we’ll get a chance to see his speed in action against the Houston Texans.

But will it be enough to fix the problems that plagued the Bengals in the season opener?

Speed is what makes Ross special

John Ross is more than just a track star, but there’s no question that it was his record-breaking performance at the 2017 NFL Combine that makes him a player that will be fascinating to see in action.

In March, Ross blazed down the 40-yard track in Indianapolis in 4.22 seconds, a couple hundredths of a second faster than the 4.24 seconds by Chris Johnson in 2008 that was long held as the golden standard of outrageous football speed.

Oh, and he did it with an injury that may have stopped him from even setting his best mark.

It was so fast that it almost earned the receiver his own private island from Adidas, but Ross’ Nike cleats and the dang fine print left him without some new beachfront property. A spot in the top 10 of the 2017 NFL Draft and a subsequent four-year, $17.1 million contract is a nice consolation, though.

Johnson turned his blazing speed into a strong career — including three trips to the Pro Bowl, six consecutive seasons with 1,000 rushing yards to start his career and a 2,000-yard season in 2009. The Bengals will hope that Ross’ unique speed translates similarly.

What else does Ross have to offer?

It takes more than just speed to be special in the NFL.

While Johnson was long considered the unquestioned king of the 40-yard dash, Rondel Menendez was also credited with a 4.24 40-yard dash when he ran at the 1999 NFL Combine.

But Menendez was drafted in the seventh round by the Atlanta Falcons, spent time on five different NFL rosters in 1999 and 2000, and never saw the field during a regular season game. The Bengals can expect to get a whole lot more out of their speedster.

At just 188 pounds, there will be continued concern about his durability, but Ross brings some spiciness to go with his quickness. He’s a crisp route runner with fantastic footwork, great hands, and the ability to make defenders look silly.

Cornerbacks in the NFL will attempt to overpower and bully Ross at the line of scrimmage, but it’s a risky strategy to get that close to a receiver as shifty and quick as the Washington Huskies alum. Just ask former USC cornerback and Tennessee Titans first-round pick Adoree Jackson:

Ross finished the 2016 season with 1,150 receiving yards, 17 receiving touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and one kick return touchdown. But it was his only truly productive seasons at UW after an ACL tear cost him all of 2015.

That injury and the fact that Ross has already had a few dings during the 2017 offseason raises serious concerns about his longevity. But the Bengals took him at No. 9 overall and that means he’ll have to be more than just a role player with a few manufactured touches.

How will the Bengals use Ross?

It’s difficult to know how Ross fits in because preseason gave us so little to work with. A shoulder injury kept the rookie sidelined for the first two games and a knee sprain cut his time in the preseason finale short.

In two games, Ross was on the field for a combined 28 snaps and touched the ball three times — twice on running plays. His highlight was a 25-yard run on an end around that showed some of the juice that made him a top draft pick.

His only reception was a quick 6-yard out route to the sideline from AJ McCarron.

With Ross listed as questionable for the game, even though he’s playing, he’s probably not quite 100 percent and the Bengals are likely to be careful with him. Expect to see at least one running play for the receiver and short passing that seeks to give Ross the ball in space.

His game-breaking ability to haul in the deep ball will ultimately decide whether he was worth a top 10 pick, but it might be a while before we see Andy Dalton firing long to Ross on a go route a la DeSean Jackson — who is the best case scenario as a comparison for the Bengals.

It would make a huge difference if Ross makes an impact deep, though. Dalton tried three passes of 20 yards or more in the team’s season opener and connected on none of them.

Also, don’t expect to see Ross on special teams. In April, Marvin Lewis said Ross was a candidate to return kicks, and in August the coach said the rookie was being taught punt return technique. But he doesn’t even appear on the team’s depth chart as a returner, and the team will likely stick with Alex Erickson in the role for now.

Unleashing Ross is a long-term project for the Bengals and we probably won’t see his full bag of tricks right out of the gates. But it’ll be our first glimpse at his 4.22 speed in the NFL and, that alone makes his debut Thursday interesting.