Mission Accomplished for Taylor in 40
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, the most productive three-year running back in NCAA history, is the fastest running back at the Scouting Combine.
Taylor won the Combine’s 40-yard dash on Friday night with a time of 4.39 seconds. At 5-foot-10 1/4 and 226 pounds, he’s one of only three running backs over the last decade to break 4.40 seconds while weighing at least 220 pounds. The others are Auburn’s Mario Fannin (4.37 at 231 pounds) in 2011 and Arkansas’ Knile Davis (4.37 at 227 pounds) in 2013.
Taylor was a big play waiting to happen for the Badgers. In 2019, he had 30 carries of 15-plus yards – second-most in the draft class, according to Pro Football Focus. At Salem (N.J.) High School, he was a state champion in the 100 as a junior and senior.
“I think that’s due to my track background, being able to have that long-distance speed and being able to hold it,” Taylor said on Wednesday, when he announced that his goal was to run 4.4.
Taylor’s 6,174 rushing yards at Wisconsin is the most ever for a running back in his first three seasons. That obliterated the previous record of 5,596 yards set by Walker while at Georgia in the early 1980s.
“It’s an honor. Anytime you’re mentioned with those guys, it’s a blessing,” Taylor said. “I think the biggest thing is you didn’t do it alone. I had great teammates, great leaders around me to push me to the limit, to push me to that moment. So, I think the biggest thing is just realizing and understanding that I didn’t do it alone.”
Taylor, however, isn’t even the clear-cut top running back in this draft class. NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks ranked him No. 5. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked him No. 3, as did NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah and Pro Football Focus. With 12 career games of 200-plus yards, Taylor’s long speed was on display throughout his career. With 926 career carries for scouts to digest, his outrageous 40 time might not have an impact on their opinions. Still, in a six-man derby to be the top running back off the board, being the fastest is a feather in his cap.
The questions, however, are obvious as his jaw-dropping production.
Taylor beat Appalachian State’s Darrynton Evans (4.41), Louisiana-Lafayette’s Raymond Calais (4.42) and Maryland’s Anthony McFarland (4.44). Among the other top backs, Florida State’s Cam Akers ran in 4.47, Georgia’s D’Andre Swift in 4.48, LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 4.60 and Utah’s Zack Moss in 4.65; Moss reportedly ran with an injured hamstring. Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins did not run a 40.
