WATCH: Kyren Williams runs 40-yard dash at NFL Combine
Just as a positive 40-yard dash time can positively impact your draft stock, posting a negative one would not be doing you any favors. Especially for running backs, with NFL scouts throughout all 32 teams attempting to find a ball carrier with break-away speed.
For Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Kyren Williams, it was not a solid first attempt during Friday’s NFL Combine. He posted an unofficial 4.72, one of the worst among the players participating. While this will not be make or break for the former Fighting Irish player, he will need to post a better time on his second attempt.
You can watch Williams and his attempt here.
Williams spent three seasons in South Bend, posting 1,000-yard seasons as both a sophomore and a junior. He is just as big of a threat coming out of the backfield, having 78 receptions for 675 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
ESPN’s Todd McShay ranked Williams as one of the top five running backs in the draft, coming in at No. 4. During a television segment, the draft analyst explained why he loved Williams and what makes him a good prospect for NFL teams.
“Another versatile player, and I go back to the running back position – Kyren Williams from Notre Dame,” McShay said. “He’s a guy who’s never going to be – or never really has been – a 30-plus carry guy. … He just doesn’t have that frame, but he is a patient as a runner, the pick-and-slide maneuvering and the vision to go with it. He senses where the linebackers are going, he senses where the cutback is, he picks and slides through and then he has that upfield burst.
“What I love is that he runs with urgency, he churns his legs at the end of runs – and don’t tell him what his height and weight is when he’s carrying the football.”
Even with a slower 40-yard time, Williams will be one of the first few running backs selected in April. One bad measurement will not completely ruin the good tape he had while at Notre Dame.