40-Yard Dash: How the Combine Runs and Times It
Updated · Fact checked
The 40-yard dash is a straight sprint of 40 yards from a still start. It is the best-known test at the NFL Combine, where it is timed to the hundredth of a second, and high school recruiting combines run it too.
This guide covers the test itself: how you line up, when the clock starts and stops, and what the split times inside the 40 tell a scout. The published numbers sit in the table below. For what they mean, see the guides on average 40 times by position and good high school times.
40-yard dash: the published numbers
NFL Combine, 2000 to 2018, by position (average ± standard deviation)
| Position | 40-yard dash |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | 4.82 ± 0.19 s |
| Running back | 4.54 ± 0.10 s |
| Wide receiver | 4.50 ± 0.10 s |
| Tight end | 4.75 ± 0.15 s |
| Offensive line | 5.24 ± 0.17 s |
| Defensive tackle | 5.08 ± 0.15 s |
| Defensive end / edge rusher | 4.81 ± 0.14 s |
| Linebacker | 4.69 ± 0.12 s |
| Cornerback | 4.48 ± 0.09 s |
| Safety | 4.54 ± 0.09 s |
Frank DJ, King MJ, Dennard CD, Macnamara BN. Discriminant Function Analysis Reveals Which Combination of Measures from the NFL Scouting Combine Predict NFL Performance. Journal of Expertise 2023;6(2):130-163, Table 4. The study's analysed samples were 117 to 462 players per position; it does not say whether these averages use that sample or every participant.
High school combine players, all positions: 40-yard dash 5.3 ± 0.4 sGillen ZM, Shoemaker ME, McKay BD, Cramer JT. State Population Influences Athletic Performance Combine Test Scores in High School-Aged American Football Players. Int J Exerc Sci 2019;12(6):256-262, Table 1 (raw values). Pooled across the paper's three groups.
440's 40 targets by plan
| Plan | High school | College | Pro reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 5.13 s | 4.93 s | 4.85 s |
| Running Back | 4.83 s | 4.63 s | 4.55 s |
| Wide Receiver | 4.78 s | 4.58 s | 4.50 s |
| Tight End | 5.00 s | 4.80 s | 4.72 s |
| Offensive Line | 5.58 s | 5.38 s | 5.30 s |
| Defensive Line | 5.23 s | 5.03 s | 4.95 s |
| Linebacker | 4.98 s | 4.78 s | 4.70 s |
| Defensive Back | 4.78 s | 4.58 s | 4.50 s |
| Kicker | 5.23 s | 5.03 s | 4.95 s |
| Punter | 5.23 s | 5.03 s | 4.95 s |
| Athlete | 4.88 s | 4.68 s | 4.60 s |
440 Football's own targets: a pro reference per position, plus 0.28 s for high school and 0.08 s for college.
Rank your 40-yard dash in the free calculatorHow it is run
Mark the distance and the splits
Measure 40 yards on a flat surface. Combine runners are timed at the 10, 20 and 40-yard marks, so put a cone (and a gate or second timer, if you have one) at 10 and 20 as well as at the finish.
Set a three-point stance and hold it
Line up behind the start line with one hand down, weight on that hand and hips just above the shoulders. Get still. theScore's 2018 guide to the combine events says you must hold the stance for at least two full seconds and that a rolling start is run again.
Start from stillness
The clock starts off your own movement, not a gun. In the combine descriptions published in 2016 and 2017, a timer started the clock by hand as the runner left the line.
Sprint through the finish
Push out low on the first steps and keep running hard past the 40-yard line. In those same descriptions the finish was caught electronically as the runner crossed it, so easing up before the line costs you time.
Rest fully and run it again
Take a full recovery and run a second attempt. In one large study of high school combines, the researchers used each player's best result for every test.
What the test measures
The 2023 Journal of Expertise study behind the NFL table lists the skillset for the 40 as speed and acceleration. A 2008 NFL.com explainer gives the reason the combine takes splits inside the run: to see how quickly a player explodes off the line and how quickly they reach top speed.
That is why a 40 time is really two or three numbers. The Atlanta Falcons' 2017 guide to the combine drills says the full 40 time matters most for running backs, receivers and defensive backs, while the 10-yard splits tell scouts about get-off and explosiveness, which matters for front seven defenders, offensive linemen and tight ends. Find what your position trains for in your position guide.
How the clock starts and stops
The published descriptions of combine timing are several years old, so each one here carries its date. A Colts.com article from 2016 said the combine had used semi-electronic timing since 1999: the clock was stopped electronically at the finish line but started by hand at the runner's first movement.
In 2017, Zybek Sports, whose equipment had timed the combine 40 for seven years by then, described the same split on its own blog. Official times used its electronic hand start, a button pressed when the athlete leaves the line, and the 10, 20 and 40-yard times were fully automated. Zybek also recorded a fully automated time that starts when the athlete lifts their hand, but that was not the official time. NFL.com wrote the same year that the combine uses the Zybek timing system. These are the latest descriptions we could find, and the method may have changed since.
High school combines can be fully electronic. In a 2019 study of more than 7,000 high school players, every sprint was timed with Zybek laser beam gates, which the authors list as a fully automated timing system. A stopwatch 40 is a different measurement again, so before you compare two times, check how each was taken. The hand-timed vs laser 40 guide covers how far apart they run.
The 10 and 20-yard splits
Combine runners get three times from one run: 10, 20 and 40 yards. In the 2008 NFL.com explainer, Steelers college scout Mark Gorcsak explained the first two. The 10 shows how fast a player gets off, which he tied to closing speed for defensive backs, receivers and defenders. The 20 shows long speed: whether you keep building speed or stay at one speed.
If you have only one timer, run the full 40 for your main number and test the start on its own. The 10-yard split guide covers the first 10 yards in detail.
Technique, briefly
In 440's 3-point start the cues are weight on the down hand, a first step that pushes rather than reaches, and a low heel recovery; the common faults are lifting the head first and stepping backward. 440's plans train the start with 10-yard starts and top speed with flying 10s. The full session plan is in how to run a faster 40.
FAQ
How is the 40-yard dash timed at the NFL Combine?
In the latest descriptions we found, from 2016 and 2017, the clock was started by hand as the runner moved and stopped electronically, with electronic times at 10, 20 and 40 yards. Colts.com said this semi-electronic method dated from 1999. The NFL may have changed it since.
When does the clock start in the 40?
Off your own first movement, not a gun. In the 2016 and 2017 descriptions, a timer started the clock by hand as the runner left the line. theScore's 2018 guide to the combine events adds that you must hold a still three-point stance for at least two full seconds first, and that a rolling start is rerun.
What is a split in the 40-yard dash?
A split is the time to an earlier mark inside the same run. Combine runners are timed at 10 and 20 yards on the way to 40; scouts use the 10 for how fast a player gets off and the 20 for whether they keep building speed.
How precise is a 40 time?
Combine 40 times are given to the hundredth of a second. That precision only holds when the method matches, though: a stopwatch time and an electronic time of the same run are not interchangeable.
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- Discriminant Function Analysis Reveals Which Combination of Measures from the NFL Scouting Combine Predict NFL Performance (Frank, King, Dennard, Macnamara; Journal of Expertise 2023;6(2)), Journal of Expertise
- 2026 NFL Combine: Best and average 40-yard dash times by position (Matt Okada, 2026-02-25), NFL.com
- Breaking Down the NFL Combine Drills (Andrew Hirsh, 2017-02-26), Atlanta Falcons (atlantafalcons.com)
- Combine events: 40-yard dash (NFL.com, 2008-02-23), NFL.com
- 7 Years (AND RUNNING) at The NFL Combine (Zybek Sports blog, 2017-09-11; the timing vendor describing its own system), Zybek Sports
- Breaking down the events at the NFL combine (Mike Alessandrini, 2018-02-28; sports media, weaker than an NFL source, kept with attribution only for the stance hold and rerun rule, which no NFL or team page found states), theScore
- The Fastest Combine 40-Yard-Dash in Colts History (Steve Andress, 2016-02-18), Indianapolis Colts (colts.com)
- 17 for '17: Fastest players in college football (Chase Goodbread, NFL.com, 2017-05-24), NFL.com
- State Population Influences Athletic Performance Combine Test Scores in High School-Aged American Football Players (Gillen, Shoemaker, McKay, Cramer; Int J Exerc Sci 2019;12(6):256-262), PMC / International Journal of Exercise Science
Program numbers (benchmarks, sets, reps, loads, protein targets) are 440 Football's own prescriptions. For athletes 13 and older; check with a physician or a registered dietitian before major training or diet changes.