Watch: Buccaneers LB Devin White Posts Absurd 40 Yard Dash
In case you needed a reminder, Devin White is really fast.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rising third-year linebacker has shown off his speed countless times during his football career, particularly while shooting into the backfield to record sacks and tackles for losses. He's posted 11.5 and 19 of those, respectively, over the past two seasons.
However, other than as seen on his numerous fumble recoveries, White doesn't often get to and sustain his top speed for long stretches of running on the football field. That changed on Thursday as White competed in a 40-yard-dash race with Kansas City wide receiver Mecole Hardman, Las Vegas receiver Henry Ruggs III, and Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson.
You can watch the competition below with footage from Bleacher Report.
White finished third among the contestants with an incredible 4.37-second result, a better result than his 40-yard-dash at the 2019 NFL Combine. Then, White ran a 4.42 at 6-foot, 237 pounds, which the Buccaneers list as his size currently.
Hardman (4.22) and Ruggs (4.26) finished ahead of White in the race, which isn't much of a surprise as the two are known for their freakish speed and are much smaller than White. However, White finished ahead of his former LSU teammate in Jefferson, who posted a 4.5-flat. And keep in mind, White weighs 35 pounds more than Jefferson, who was the second-heaviest player in the run.
According to MockDraftable, a 4.37-second 40-yard dash would be the second-best in recorded history among off-ball linebackers, placing White only a tenth of a second behind Dallas Cowboys' 2020 first-round pick Micah Parsons (4.36).
For comparison's sake, as he was the only linebacker among a group of receivers, White's 4.37 would rank in the 83rd percentile among receivers in history, according to MockDraftable.
He may not have won the competition, but who cares. Rest assured, White possesses one-of-a-kind speed for a linebacker and that was put on full display.
