John Ross was selected ninth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2017 NFL draft. John Ross’s career in the NFL never truly took off but his record in the 40-yard dash still has people talking about him.
John Ross ran a record-breaking 4.22-second 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL combine. This is the fastest 40-yard dash recorded using electronic timing. In other words, this is the fastest official 40-yard dash.
Some unofficial times have come somewhat close including Erik Stokes 40 times and Lamar Jackson’s 4.34.
It is an important distinction between an unofficial 40-yard dash and an official 40-yard dash.
For the timing of this drill to be considered official electronic timing needs to be used. Oftentimes when players are measuring their 40-yard dash at pro days or with trainers a handheld stopwatch will be used.
This presents the obvious problem of human error in these times. For this reason, measuring with a stopwatch is always going to be considered unofficial while electronic timing is considered official.
John Ross Pre Draft Strengths And Weaknesses
Strengths
Has home-run gear to yank the top off of defenses
Coming into the league it’s no surprise that John Ross’ breakaway speed was the thing scouts were most excited about.
Based on his 40 time alone you can see how John Ross’ speed is special. Despite this Ross failed to utilize this speed to take the top off defenses.
Throughout his career, he was able to earn three touchdowns over fifty yards. This isn’t terrible but after five years in the league, it can be expected that Ross would be able to produce more than that.
Eludes the first tackler and can turn a short one into a long one in a heartbeat
John Ross’ ability after the catch was another big strength that scouts were banking on. Unfortunately for Ross, he was never able to crack 200 yards after the catch in a single season.
In fact, in his first five years in the league, Ross only accumulated three hundred yards after the catch. With the top receivers earning 400-800 yards of yac per year this is noticeably below what scouts expected from Ross.
Weaknesses
Injury Concerns
One knock against John Ross entering the draft was his injury history. Ross had major surgeries on both of his knees before entering the NFL.
Re-injury to either of these knees were something that teams were nervous about.
Throughout the first five seasons in the NFL Ross never played more than thirteen games in a single season. There were also two seasons in which Ross failed to play more than three games.
Injuries often nagged at Ross and frequently had him placed on the injury report and IR.
That concludes our article on John Ross’ 40 time see Tyreek Hill’s 40 or Rashod Bateman’s for reference.
