Speed remains name of game on final day of NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS — College football’s top players turned the NFL’s annual scouting combine into speed week.

Running back Jonathan Taylor promised to run the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds. He did. Receiver Henry Ruggs III came, literally, a few ticks away from matching the fastest time recorded in the event’s 35-year history. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons showed he had receiver-type speed Saturday, and even the big men turned heads with their fleet feet.

On Sunday, the trend continued with cornerback Javelin Guidry of Utah clocking a 4.29 — the best on the final day of workouts in Indianapolis and tied for third-best among defensive backs since 2003. Only Jalen Myrick of Minnesota in 2017 and Stanford Routt in 2005 posted faster times.

“It was a 4.28 at a Texas camp my sophomore year,” Guidry said earlier this week when asked what his fastest 40 was. “I really focused on (track) when we moved to Texas. Coach Larry Weathers in Austin, he really put it on me to focus on track and running and DB drills as well. He’s a DB coach, but running was the main thing.”

Guidry did more than that in Indy. He also posted 21 reps on the 225-pound bench press, tied for fifth among defensive backs.

Other observations:

Stock up

• Tristan Wirfs: At 6-foot-5, 322 pounds, Iowa’s former offensive tackle posted a better vertical jump (36¹⁄₂ inches) than two of the draft’s top receivers: Jerry Jeudy (35) and CeeDee Lamb (34¹⁄₂).

• Isaiah Simmons: The former Clemson linebacker helped himself by running a 4.39 in the 40, matching Taylor’s time and finishing ahead of all but six receivers. He also had the second-best broad jump (11 feet) and tied for third-best vertical jump (39 inches) among linebackers.

• Taylor: The fastest running back in Indianapolis also measured in bigger than his two nearest competitors, J.K. Dobbins of Ohio State and D’Andre Swift of Georgia, to be the first runner selected. He outran Swift in the 40 (4.48) with a 4.39, and posted better numbers in the vertical jump and broad jump than Swift.

• Mekhi Becton: The 364-pound offensive tackle from Louisville raised eyebrows with a stunning 5.11 in the 40 but might have raised questions with only 23 reps on the bench. He tied for 25th among the 39 offensive linemen who lifted.

• Kyle Dugger: The only Division II player in Indy thought he would run in the 4.3’s. Instead, his two attempts came in at 4.50 and 4.51, good enough to stay among the top-rated safeties. Plus, he had a 42-inch vertical jump, the best among defensive backs, and the third-best broad jump at 11-2.

Stock down

• Zack Moss: Of the 28 running backs who competed in the vertical jump, the former Utah player had the seventh-worst mark at 33 inches. Worse yet, he hurt his hamstring.

• Laviska Shenault Jr.: The 6-foot-1, 227-pound former Colorado receiver played most of last season with a core muscle injury. Only Shenault really knows how much it hurt him at the combine. After posting a less-than-scintillating 4.58-second run Thursday, NFL Network reported he intended to have surgery.

• Mitchell Wilcox: Everyone saw the Florida Atlantic tight end get hit in the face by a ball in the gauntlet drill. He never completely recovered from that embarrassing moment, struggling to make catches in other drills, running the third-slowest 40 among tight ends (4.88) and logging the second-worst vertical jump (31).