Winners and losers from the DB drills at the NFL Combine
Can Donte Jackson beat John Ross’ record in the 40? We’ll find out on Monday.
The defensive backs wrapped up the NFL Combine on Monday, displaying their incredible athleticism. Of course, the highlights included fast 40-yard dash times that you won’t want to miss.
Winners
Today’s 40-yard dash was one of the most anticipated events of this year’s combine, in part because LSU cornerback Donte Jackson was a legitimate contender to break the record John Ross set last year. It didn’t happen, but Jackson still tied with Denzel Ward and Parry Nickerson for the best time among all DB’s with a blazing-fast 4.32.
Saquon Barkley is the Penn State player who gets the most buzz, and rightfully so. But his Nittany Lions teammate, safety Troy Apke, impressed so much with his 4.35 (unofficial) that Deion Sanders had to go and give him a hug.
Losers
It wasn’t a stellar combine for South Carolina’s Jamarcus King. He ran the slowest 40 of all the defensive backs, a 4.7. Then a strained hip flexor sidelined him for the rest of the day. Florida State’s Tarvarus McFadden also underwhelmed with a 4.67 40-yard dash.
Updates
We’ll be getting a Roger Goodell 40-yard dash today:
Heard you call me out @richeisen. It’s on. Headed down to the 5th floor @nfl345 to run my 40. #RunRichRun @StJude
— Roger Goodell (@nflcommish) March 5, 2018
In 2015, he ran a 5.53 in the same location. On Monday, he beat that time:
What does Monday morning in your office look like?
— Samantha Rapoport (@samrap10) March 5, 2018
#5.41 #runcommishrun @nflcommish @NFLprguy pic.twitter.com/7anzxwOAaF
Friendly Belichick!
Bill Belichick stopped by to see Eisen and Mike Mayock, where he donated to St. Jude:
A tradition like no other.
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 5, 2018
Bill Belichick surprised @RichEisen and @MikeMayock in the #NFLCombine broadcast booth and it was awesome ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FGWqKgmGZw
Ouch!
Poor Taron Johnson:
Ouch! pic.twitter.com/PV3PHkO8Q6
— Brad McDaniel (@DFF_BMack) March 5, 2018
Run Rich!
Rich Eisen topped his 2017 time of 6.02 by running a 5.97:
The 2018 edition of #RunRichRun is HERE.@RichEisen runs a 5.97 OFFICIAL 40-yard dash! @StJudehttps://t.co/QeeUSDRBBL pic.twitter.com/eR8JN8dvf2
— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2018
Defensive back drills:
40-yard dash
Who helped themselves:
- Perry Nickerson product represented his school well, and also helped his draft stock with an unofficial 4.32 on his first attempt at the 40-yard dash. Though it appeared he tweaked something in the process.
We've got a tie atop the fastest DB leaderboard...
— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2018
Parry Nickerson (@_therealpnick) runs a 4.32u 40-yard dash! @GreenWaveFB#NFLCombine
: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/NDMUADhfqJ
His time would remain at 4.32 when official.
- After wide receiver D.J. Chark ran a 4.34, cornerback Donte Jackson runs an unofficial 4.32 on Monday:
4.32u!
— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2018
Donte Jackson's (@_DJack01) first 40-yard dash attempt! #NFLCombine
: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/sRyBJFpqGs
Jackson’s second time was a 4.37, so John Ross’ record is safe, after Jackson said that he could put Ross’ time in jeopardy. But his 4.32 stands as official.
- Alabama’s Tony Brown was whistled to stop on his first attempt, which didn’t make him happy walking back to the start. Even Mike Mayock and Rich Eisen said that the start appeared to be fine.
Here’s how it turned out after, which was still good at an unofficial 4.37:
@AlabamaFTBL’s Tony Brown runs a 4.37u in the 40-yard dash!
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 5, 2018
: #NFLCombine LIVE on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/orJtlCoMcq
Brown’s official time would be a 4.35.
- Denzel Ward, widely considered the best defensive back prospect in the draft, runs an unofficial 4.32 on his first attempt:
ANOTHER 4.32u!@MikeMayock's top-rated CB Denzel Ward (@Flash_Ward12) runs the 40-yard dash! @OhioStateFB #NFLCombine
— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2018
: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/1xzQ7GeiHV
Ward would run an unofficial 4.36 on his second attempt, and get a 4.32 official time. But he won’t be participating in other drills as a precaution:
Ohio State CB Denzel Ward tells @KimJonesSports he tweaked an ankle before start of #NFLCombine and chose not to participate in positional drills. He ran a 4.32 40, tied for best among all DBs. He says he will do positional work at his pro day March 22.
— CollegeFootball 24/7 (@NFLDraft) March 5, 2018
Ward will do positional drills at Ohio State’s pro day on March 22.
- Penn State’s Troy Apke impressed Deion Sanders with his unofficial 4.35:
“He can RUN run!” @DeionSanders was VERY impressed with @Traps_5’s 4.35u 40-yard dash
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 5, 2018
: #NFLCombine LIVE on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/zlFMQUGp92
- Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick ran an unofficial 4.47 in his first run of the day. He’s one of the top prospects among the group, and will likely be a top 10 pick.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- South Carolina’s Jamarcus King ran an unofficial 4.70, and did not participate in the bench press.
- Oklahoma’s J.T. Thomas ran an unofficial 4.66 after putting up just four bench press reps of 225 pounds on Sunday.
Vertical jump
Who helped themselves:
- Virginia Tech’s Terrell Edmunds got up with this 41.5” vertical jump:
TURN US , RELL ❗️
— VT Football (@VT_Football) March 5, 2018
Check out this 41.5” vertical from @rell_island6 #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork #LPD pic.twitter.com/YvkWVPpV3g
- Florida State’s Derwin James also impressed with a 40” vertical.
Broad jump
Who helped themselves:
- Terrell Edmunds and Derwin James also shined here, adding 11’2” and 11’ broad jumps, respectively.
Preview
The 2018 NFL Combine is on its last day. On Monday, we’ll see the very last position group, the defensive backs, run through drills. The biggest names include likely first-rounders like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Denzel Ward.
There’s a reason that Chris Johnson’s 40-yard dash record of 4.24 stood for almost a decade. It’s not easy to beat. John Ross finally did last year when he ran a 4.22. If any prospect can dethrone Ross this year, it’ll be LSU cornerback Donte Jackson. Jackson has been clocked at 4.24 in practice. It’s a tall order, but he might be able to get it done.
So far this year, the fastest 40 time was wide receiver D.J. Chark’s 4.34, though the most impressive belongs to Shaquem Griffin, a linebacker out of the University of Central Florida. Griffin won everyone over with 20 bench press reps with a prosthetic hand and a record-setting 4.38 40-yard dash.
Monday also features everyone’s favorite annual combine moment: Rich Eisen running a 40-yard dash in a suit to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. You won’t want to miss it.
Here’s how to watch all of Monday’s action:
When: Monday, March 5
Time: Coverage starts at 9 a.m. ET
Place: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: NFL Network
Online: NFL.com, Verizon NFL Mobile

