Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t run the 40-yard-dash at the combine or his pro-day; but if he did, NFL Twitter would’ve imploded.
Kyler Murray never ran the 40-yard-dash at the 2019 NFL Combine or at his Oklahoma pro-day. But, that didn’t stop the Arizona Cardinals from taking him at No. 1 overall. Though he didn’t test in the category that many believe to be the most important (it’s not) in terms of athletic testing, if he did, he might’ve set records.
We know he’s fast, plays like these reaffirm that statement.
Kyler Murray is good at football pic.twitter.com/wTUERGReqe
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) November 25, 2018
What we don’t know is how fast he actually is. But, we have a relatively good idea. Though Murray didn’t run the 40 in front of NFL scouts, he did note that he’s timed it in the past.
In the Spring of 2017, Murray ran it for the Oklahoma brass. His timed result; 4.38 seconds. That’s fast, actually, that’s scary fast. But do you know what’s scarier? The quarterback was just 19 years old when he ran that, meaning he could very well be faster.
Murray noted that he ran a 4.3 two or three years ago, whether or not that is that Oklahoma time is unknown. Still, that’s stupidly fast for a quarterback or not.
For The Win’s Steve Ruiz decided to test what Murray’s alleged 40-time would be on the football field with pads and defenders trying to knock his head off added to the mix. For players, this time is most often slower than their testing time. But, for Murray, it’s the opposite.
Ruiz noted that he ran 45-yards in 4.44 seconds. That’s unbelievable. What’s more unbelievable? Based on the timing of the clip, he ran 40-yards in 3.96 seconds. Yes, 3.96. Despite the fact he did have a running start, that’s a number that most can’t hit.
But, it’s unrealistic because of that running start. Therefore, we’ll round the number up to 4.20-seconds.
Nobody has ever run a 40-yard-dash under 4.21-seconds, and I’m not saying that Kyler would, but his play-speed shows that it’s feasible.
Bovada set Murray’s 40-time over-under at 4.44-seconds. Again, another unreal metric, considering that gambling will take the more conservative approach in order to lure the betters. Many took the under, and Good Morning Football’s Nate Burleson even said he’d run the fastest time at the combine.
The result of these numbers; 4.44 from Bovada, 3.96 from the game film, Murray’s noted 4.3, and 4.38 from his Oklahoma time is an average of 4.27-seconds. This would be the fastest recorded quarterback 40-time in pro-day or combine history. However, if you substitute that 3.96 for the estimated 4.20, that number jumps to 4.33.
Still, this would tie the fastest recorded 40-time for a quarterback set by Michael Vick. In second place is Robert Griffin III’s at 4.34. Nevertheless, if Murray ran the 40-yard-dash, he’d likely be the fastest starting quarterback in the NFL along with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Obviously, a 4.27-second 40-yard-dash time is earth-shattering and record-breaking, and so 4.33-second. Both aren’t definite numbers; but it is somewhat reliable as it combines numbers from credible sources, himself, a sports-gambling firm, and the tape. If I were a betting man, I’d take the under on the 4.44 second, as he’d probably run in the low 4.3’s or high 4.2’s.
So what can one pull from his blazing perceived 40-time? Murray is scary fast, and the NFL should be put on notice, because, defenses might’ve never seen a quarterback as speedy as Murray. Luckily, Cardinals fans will get to see it on every NFL Sunday.