Upcoming NFL draft's wideouts making history for the wrong reasons
The 2016 class took the turf today in Indy and ran an average 40-yard dash of 4.56, good for the slowest average time for the group since 2005, when the NFL began recording numbers from the event.
Former Notre Dame receiver Will Fuller led the way with a 4.32, the second fastest time in three years, but the class saw 11 players run 4.45 or slower, compared to zero in 2015 and five in 2014.
Hello SPEED!@NDFootball WR Will Fuller runs a 4.33u 40! #NFLCombine https://t.co/a3ZL4Bbu6I
— NFL (@NFL) February 27, 2016
That isn't to say, however, that the receivers from this class won't have success in the NFL. Of the 12 fastest receivers over the last 10 years, only one, Mike Wallace, has made the Pro Bowl and 2015 yardage leaders Antonio Brown (4.47), DeAndre Hopkins (4.57) and Brandon Marshall (4.52) were able to put up gaudy numbers despite not being the fastest straight-line runners at their respective combines.