Former Washington receiver John Ross turned quite a few heads when he ran a blazing fast 4.22 at the NFL Combine, which is a new combine record.
As it turns out, Ross isn't the fastest player in this draft class despite having the best time in the 40-yard dash. An episode of ESPN's Sports Science details how former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is the fastest running back in the last five years while wearing pads.
Cook only ran a 4.49 at the combine, but his 20-yard split time was the same in shoulder pads as Ross' at the combine.
So, despite Cook's subpar combine performance, his evaluation on film in shoulder pads should remove some doubt that could reside in the minds of some teams.
NFL.com analyst Charley Casserly has Cook landing at No. 8 to the Carolina Panthers, and three other analysts have Cook being selected later in the first round.
Cook's off-the-field troubles have damaged his stock some, but with that kind of explosiveness and versatility out of the backfield, it's more likely than not that some team takes a chance on Cook in the first round.
(h/t 247Sports)
