By SuperWest Sports Staff
March 2, 2025
Among the positions participating in the 40-yard dash at each NFL Combine, the wide receivers tend to be faster across the board.
That generally seemed to be the case again this year.
But how did the 2025 participants from schools in the West compare to other Combine classes in the region dating back to 2000?
To find out, we updated our historical 40-yard dash results, extracted the wide receivers, and selected those who ran a sub-4.5, as listed in the table below.
But before we get to the rankings, it’s worth exploring how the NFL’s 40-yard dash came to be used by scouts to evaluate a player’s speed and acceleration.
According to Michael MacCambridge in America’s Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, 40 yards is the average distance of a punt, and it takes 4.5 seconds to reach that distance, as determined by Paul Brown in the mid-1940s.
Theoretically, if a player can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, he could reach the point where a punted ball comes down as it arrives.
Here’s the 40-yard dash time for every wide receiver from the West who has run a sub-4.5 at the NFL Combine since 2000, along with their school and the year they participated, collected in a searchable, sortable table.
(Since the Combine wasn’t held in 2021 due to the pandemic, we’ve included the team Pr0-Day drill results for that year instead).
Washington’s John Ross still owns the fastest 40-yard dash time among players from schools in the West at 4.22, as well as the second-fastest all-time nationwide.
Washington State’s Kyle Williams recorded the fastest time in 2025 at 4.4.
| Name | Time | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Ross | 4.22 | Washington | 2017 |
| Mike Thomas | 4.30 | Arizona | 2009 |
| Jason Hill | 4.32 | WSU | 2007 |
| Brandin Cooks | 4.33 | OSU | 2014 |
| R. Jay Soward | 4.34 | USC | 2000 |
| DeSean Jackson | 4.35 | California | 2008 |
| Chris Owusu | 4.36 | Stanford | 2012 |
| Cliff Russell | 4.36 | Utah | 2002 |
| Jacob Cowing | 4.38 | Arizona | 2024 |
| Anthony Gould | 4.39 | OSU | 2024 |
| Samie Parker | 4.39 | Oregon | 2004 |
| Kyle Williams | 4.40 | WSU | 2025 |
| Jalen Cropper | 4.40 | Fresno St | 2023 |
| Paul Richardson | 4.40 | Colorado | 2014 |
| Kyle Williams | 4.40 | ASU | 2010 |
| Jeff Webb | 4.40 | SDSU | 2006 |
| Todd Watkins | 4.40 | BYU | 2006 |
| Tory Horton | 4.41 | Colorado St | 2025 |
| Troy Franklin | 4.41 | Oregon | 2024 |
| DeMarco Sampson | 4.41 | SDSU | 2011 |
| Brandon Breazell | 4.41 | UCLA | 2008 |
| Legedu Naanee | 4.41 | Boise St | 2007 |
| Steve Smith | 4.41 | Utah | 2001 |
| Jalen Royals | 4.42 | Utah St | 2025 |
| Michael Rector | 4.42 | Stanford | 2017 |
| Trevor Davis | 4.42 | California | 2016 |
| Byron Marshall | 4.42 | Oregon | 2016 |
| Nelson Agholor | 4.42 | USC | 2015 |
| Kealoha Pilares | 4.42 | Hawaii | 2011 |
| Kevin Curtis | 4.42 | Utah St | 2003 |
| Kareem Kelly | 4.42 | USC | 2003 |
| Khalil Shakir | 4.43 | Boise St | 2022 |
| John Hightower | 4.43 | Boise St | 2020 |
| Titus Young | 4.43 | Boise St | 2011 |
| Marko Mitchell | 4.43 | Nevada | 2009 |
| Shaun McDonald | 4.43 | ASU | 2003 |
| Eddie Berlin | 4.43 | New Mexico | 2001 |
| Dennis Northcutt | 4.43 | Arizona | 2000 |
| Elic Ayomanor | 4.44 | Stanford | 2025 |
| Simi Fehoko | 4.44 | Stanford | 2021 |
| Jaelen Strong | 4.44 | ASU | 2015 |
| Steve Smith | 4.44 | USC | 2007 |
| Adam Jennings | 4.44 | Fresno St | 2006 |
| Rome Odunze | 4.45 | Washington | 2024 |
| Bailey Gaither | 4.45 | SJSU | 2021 |
| Markus Wheaton | 4.45 | OSU | 2013 |
| Kevin Jurovich | 4.45 | SJSU | 2010 |
| Sammie Stroughter | 4.45 | OSU | 2009 |
| Paul Williams | 4.45 | Fresno St | 2007 |
| Derek Hagan | 4.45 | ASU | 2006 |
| LaJohntay Wester | 4.46 | Colorado | 2025 |
| Jimmy Horn Jr. | 4.46 | Colorado | 2025 |
| Dillon Mitchell | 4.46 | Oregon | 2019 |
| Marvin Jones | 4.46 | California | 2012 |
| Ronald Johnson | 4.46 | USC | 2011 |
| Craig Bragg | 4.46 | UCLA | 2005 |
| Tab Perry | 4.46 | UCLA | 2005 |
| Freddie Mitchell | 4.46 | UCLA | 2001 |
| Devaughn Vele | 4.47 | Utah | 2024 |
| Jalen McMillan | 4.47 | Washington | 2024 |
| Connor Wedington | 4.47 | Stanford | 2021 |
| Jordan Payton | 4.47 | UCLA | 2016 |
| Jeremy Childs | 4.47 | Boise St | 2009 |
| Jaison Williams | 4.47 | Oregon | 2009 |
| Dezmon Patmon | 4.48 | WSU | 2020 |
| Robert Herron | 4.48 | Wyoming | 2014 |
| Brian Poli-Dixon | 4.48 | UCLA | 2002 |
| Jordan Addison | 4.49 | USC | 2023 |
| Travis Brown | 4.49 | New Mexico | 2008 |
| Jordan Kent | 4.49 | Oregon | 2007 |
| Jeremy Bloom | 4.49 | Colorado | 2006 |
| Kendrick Starling | 4.49 | SJSU | 2004 |
| Ashley Lelie | 4.49 | Hawaii | 2002 |