With the NFL Combine for the 2026 season set to begin today, all eyes will be on the young guns looking to make a name for themselves ahead of the NFL draft in a couple of months.
As always, plenty of top candidates from across the college football landscape have been invited to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the Combine takes place. Teams will be able to meet up, interview, and check the performances of the top athletes as they get ready to infuse their rosters with the latest and upcoming talent.
That being said, the Combine is a chance for all college football players looking to turn professional to showcase their abilities through various drills. In this article, we will take a look at the 40-yard dash and check out what the odds have to say on whether the record will be broken this year or not.
What is the 40-yard dash?
The 40-yard dash is probably the most anticipated drill the draft prospects perform at the Combine each year. This drill consists of players running 40 yards in a straight line from a standing start, and their time at the end of the dash is calculated.
The main use of the 40-yard dash is to measure the explosiveness, acceleration, and top speeds of the players. This drill is typically most important for the skill position players, such as the wide receivers, cornerbacks, running backs, and safeties.
For other position players, such as quarterbacks, the 40-yard dash is a good measure of their pocket mobility as well as their ability to be a dual-threat player in the league. For tight ends, it measures their ability to create separation from linebackers, and for the linebackers themselves, the 40-yard dash gives an idea about their coverage of tight ends and run-stopping ability.
The 40-yard dash isn’t extremely essential for offensive and defensive lineman, but teams can evaluate their short bursts of 10 yards to measure their initial explosiveness and acceleration.
40-yard dash record odds
The 40-yard dash record was recently broken just a couple of years back by current Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Xavier Worthy. He holds the official fastest time recorded at the NFL Combine at present, which stands at 4.21 seconds.
An approximate idea of what is considered an excellent time at the 40-yard dash drill is as follows:
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Fastest 40-yard dash time at the 2026 NFL Combine
Fastest 40-yard dash time
Odds
Slower than 4.265 seconds
-115
Faster than 4.265 seconds
-115
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Top Candidates who can break the 40-yard dash record this year
Breaking the 40-yard dash record won’t be an easy challenge by any means. Although athletes are getting faster and stronger with enhanced training methods, elite speed is a combination of several factors coming into play.
Prior to Xavier Worthy’s performance at the Combine in 2024, the record was owned by wide receiver John Ross, who ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine. Nevertheless, here are some of the top contenders for the event this year.
Demond Claiborne – RB (Wake Forest)
Demond Claiborne is a senior at Wake Forest playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as a running back since 2022. The 22-year-old is known for his twitchy nature and his ability to burst quickly as he accelerates past the linebackers into the third level of defense.
Claiborne, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing approximately 187 pounds, had quite a productive 2025 season. His 179 carries resulted in 907 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns for an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Currently, the Wake Forest running back is expected to be drafted somewhere in the 5th to 7th round.
Chris Hilton Jr. – WR (LSU)
The LSU senior, Chris Hilton Jr., plays as a wide receiver for the LSU Tigers football team. He is known for his speed and has reportedly run a 4.31-second 40-yard dash earlier. Hilton only managed 10 receptions for 122 yards in 2025, and overall, his best year of productivity was in 2024 when he reeled in 9 catches for just 241 yards.
The LSU receiver is expected to be a late-round draftee or could even become an undrafted free agent (UDFA). However, an impeccable showing at the Combine could change things up for the youngster.
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Barion Brown – WR (LSU)
Barion Brown is a 22-year-old wide receiver who last played for the LSU Tigers in the 2025 season. Prior to that, he played for the Kentucky Wildcats from 2022 to 2024. He is known to have elite sprinting speed, causing safeties to back up deeper, while stretching the field with ease.
In 2025, Brown caught 53 passes for 532 receiving yards and one touchdown. At present, his draft projection lies somewhere between rounds 4 and 5.
Andre Fuller is a senior who played cornerback for the Toledo Rockets. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 201 pounds, Fuller is considered to be one of the faster players in the secondary. He has played four years of college football, but as per his current status, Fuller could potentially become a UDFA.
Of course, this list is by no means an exhaustive one, and any other player could spring up a surprise performance at the Combine. However, the above candidates are worth keeping an eye out for.
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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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