Quote:Jerry Rice ran a 4.71 40 yard dash (source - https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=ch...040%20time).  That time has nothing to do with being elusive and recognizing/exploiting holes created by the Oline.

 

Yes, we call this "anomaly hunting".    I'm sure someone has hit 21 after hitting on 18, that doesn't mean it's a good strategy for playing blackjack.   For every Jerry Rice, there are thousands of WRs who ran 4.7 or slower who couldn't cut it because they were too slow.     Trying to make a living in the NFL as an personnel man or scout betting on anomalies will leave you unemployed exceptionally fast.   

 

Like I said, there are tried and true notable decades old anomaly examples that people throw out (though few are eager to trot out the thousands that proved the rule, because they don't make good stories), and maybe some drills are irrelevant for some positions.  However, it's near impossible to ignore the correlation between 40 yard dash and productive NFL runningbacks without just trying to throw out anomalies to deflect from the overall body of data.    

 

Or to put it another way, if 40 times are irrelevant for running backs, why did almost every 1,000 yard back in the NFL last year run in the 4.4s or better?      Why don't we see more runningbacks who run 4.6+ running for 1,000 yard seasons if it's so meaningless?    Because "recognizing/exploiting holes" is bare minimum qualifications for a runningback in the NFL.   That might be good enough for a end of roster/platoon back.    Featured high end NFL RBs recognize/exploit holes and then take a 4 yard gain for a 30+ yard gain.    It's hard to do that when you can't outrun anyone. 

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