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JJ Nelson runs blazing 4.28 40-yard dash

By Stanford Crissey

Oct 25, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; UAB Blazers punt returner J.J. Nelson (1) on a punt return during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated UAB 45-17. Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; UAB Blazers punt returner J.J. Nelson (1) on a punt return during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated UAB 45-17. Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /
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UAB’s J.J. Nelson ran an insane 40-yard at the NFL combine

J.J. Nelson is a fast, fast man.

Nelson, a kick returner from UAB, ran the 40-yard dash in today’s NFL scouting combine, and was officially timed at a ridiculous 4.28 seconds.

Well put, NFL Twitter. He fast.

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Nelson’s time was just .04 off of the all-time record for the scouting combine, which is currently held by current Jets running back Chris Johnson and Rondel Melendez, a seventh-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1999. Nelson’s time ties him for seventh all time (which really means since 1999, when the NFL started keeping official times) at the combine, tied with the likes of Champ Bailey and Jacoby Ford.

Nelson could find an NFL team on the strength of that run alone. He doesn’t have to do anything else between now and the draft, and he would still probably get drafted. Pure kick returners usually don’t get drafted very high unless it’s clear they can also do something else (like the Bears, who tried to make Devin Hester a cornerback and then a receiver).

Nelson’s four kick return touchdowns led all of college football. He ran for 843 yards on kick returns, seventh-best in the nation, and he added 277 punt return yards for good measure.

While it’s too early to say that Nelson is the next Devin Hester or anything, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine. This kind of speed will always have a place in the NFL, and Nelson’s kick return touchdowns in college show he’s got something besides just speed going for him.

That being said, pure speed doesn’t guarantee anything. For every Champ Bailey or Chris Johnson on the list of fastest 40 times, there’s a Yamon Figurs or DeMarcus van Dyke, players who never made an impact in the NFL. However, almost everyone who has run a 4.30 or better has been drafted in the third round or earlier, with the exception of Melendez.

It doesn’t help Nelson’s case that he’s 5’10” and only 156 pounds–not exactly NFL size. In fact, he’s the lightest prospect to come to the NFL combine since 2002. But he’s already made his first step toward the NFL, and it was blazing fast. It’s time to get excited about what he can do.

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