Brandon Beane scoffed when he heard Keon Coleman’s 40-yard dash time. It wasn’t relevant to him.
The Buffalo Bills general manager hasn’t put much stock into 40 times over the years, nor should he. It’s a drill Paul Brown concocted 70 years ago that football scouts use to measure top-end speed, but most people don’t reach their top speed in 40 yards.
Top-end speed in football is also overrated. Members of the speed community consider football to be an acceleration sport rather than a speed sport because there’s so much stop and start rather than straight-line speed.
Instincts, feel and route-running are just as important — if not more so — than being a burner. The Bills have found success with players like Cole Beasley, Gabe Davis, Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir, none of whom are considered speedsters.
“You don’t want to put a bunch of track guys out here and say we’re going to keep up with them, but they don’t have instincts,” Beane famously said in 2022. “I’m always looking for speed. Size, speed, those are prototype things we’re looking for at whatever position it is.”
Judging a player solely on measurables, track numbers are a more reliable gauge of speed than NFL scouting combine or pro day numbers. There is no one in the NFL with world class speed, no matter how many times television announcers declare it each week.
NFL players typically have acceleration or speed because the people who have both are usually running track instead. Bills wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr., a former sprinter for the University of Georgia, says the only player he’s seen with both is Tyreek Hill, who ran the 100 meters in 10.19 seconds and the 200 in 20.14 in high school — times that might have led him to the Olympics had he stuck with track.
That’s why teams are always willing to take chances on track guys, because they have natural speed and explosiveness that can’t be cultivated in an NFL weight room. And the Bills have seen speed work with John Brown and Brandin Cooks, neither of whom is track fast, but football fast.
“If you have speed, you can create separation early, late, in the middle of the route,” Florida receiver J. Michael Sturdivant said at the combine. “So being able to take the top off the defense and separate myself.”
But the track guys must have football instincts and a feel for the game. That’s a challenge for Sturdivant, who ran the 100 in 10.33 and the 200 in 20.99 during high school — and he did at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds.
The nephew of Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little had 150 receptions for 2,073 yards and 16 touchdowns in four seasons split between California, UCLA and Florida. His freshman season at Cal was his best, amassing 65 catches for 755 yards and seven touchdowns, but he failed to hit 30 receptions or 500 yards his final two seasons.
A tough runner after the catch who can turn a short throw upfield quickly, Sturdivant is considered a fifth- or sixth-round pick because his route-running remains unpolished. He has the footwork to run the full route tree, but whether it’s attention to detail or feel for the game, it’s an area Sturdivant needs to improve.
“I take pride in being able to win at all three levels,” said Sturdivant, who had a 39-inch vertical jump at the combine. “That’s something I’m going to continue to work on at all times.”
Incarnate Word, a San Antonio-based FCS school, receiver Jalen Walthall has similar issues. If there is a 50-50 ball in the air, good luck out-jumping Walthall. He was the Texas high school state champion in the triple jump (50 feet, 4 inches) and was a 6-8 high jumper at 6-1 and 200 pounds.
Walthall had a 35-inch vertical jump and a 10-11 broad jump at the combine, but he sometimes struggles to generate separation. Clearly it’s not because he lacks explosiveness. It could be instincts or it could be getting into positions to capitalize on his explosiveness.
Admittedly, Walthall continues to work on his releases. Despite his ability, Walthall only ran a 4.57-second 40 — with a 1.59 10-yard split — which was similar to Sturdivant, who ran 4.4 despite his speed. For sprinters, it might take more time to build speed and it’s likely neither hit their top gear by the end of the race.
That means both players have to find other ways to get open early. But if Walthall can latch onto a team as a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent, it’s going to be because he makes catches with little margin for error.
“Anytime the ball’s in the error, I’m trying to go get it,” Walthall said. “A lot of (my explosiveness) translates to contested catches. Because I know in the NFL, there’s less room. Open is a lot less space.”
Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson might be the blend of track and football that rarely emerges. Thompson ran the 100 in 10.18 and the 200 in 21.27, while also scoring the fastest 40 time at the combine this year at 4.26.
Like Walthall and Sturdivant, Thompson’s success may hinge upon his releases. Despite his time, Thompson’s first 10 yards matched Sturdivant’s 1.544. And Thompson also has the challenge of being 5-9 and 170, which means he’ll have to figure out to beat press coverage from bigger cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage or avoid being knocked off path downfield.
Thompson battled injuries during his first three seasons at Texas and Oklahoma, making just 27 catches. But he had 57 for 1,054 yards and six touchdowns for Mississippi State last year. And his 10 career scores came on an average of 39.8 yards per catch.
There’s not much variety in his game, but if he’s good enough of a deep threat, it won’t matter. Players like Marquez Valdes-Scantling have carved nice careers being a one-trick pony. And Thompson has good hands to match his speed.
“I think I catch the football very well, whether it’s down the field, intermediate or shallow,” said Thompson, who is projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick.