How Absurd Is A 40 Yard Dash Time?

The misconception about 40 times is that it is not so much a measure of "speed," but more of a measure of acceleration.

Anyone who has ever played football would know that very rarely do you ever get an oppurtunity to reach your full speed because a football field is like an obstacle course and like many others have stated, your gear does not allow you to reach your maximum speed as well.

If scouts were interested in a person's "speed" they would have them run a 100-yard sprint. This is why they do shuttle drills and 3-cone drills. Its all about your stop and start ability in football.

.2 in the 40 is HUGE when talking about cornerbacks. The biggest attribute for cornerbacks is their ability to stop and start or "flip their hips" to turn and run. How fast you accelerate is the difference between being a good cornerback and average cornerback. If a guy that runs a 4.6 has to turn and run with a guy that runs a 4.3, the 4.3 guy is going to reach his maximum acceleration much quicker and the 4.6 guy is toast.

I noticed you have named WRs who have run slow 40s but how many corners have run slow 40s? You can not compare the two because the WR knows where he is going and it is more about route-running, leaping ability, and pure football smarts for them.

Hughes will be drafted by a cover 2 team like Chicago, Indy, or Tampa where he can sit in zone and rely more on his natural instincts. He would not be a good pick for the Saints because his 4.6 40 shows that he can not accelerate quickly to play our man schemes. The Saints play more man than just about every team in the league. He is not a good fit for them for this reason.