One of the great debates in the scouting world is whether teams should use the electronic 40-yard dash times or their own personal stopwatch times. While it only makes sense that teams should use the electronic times to account for human error, there are reasons why hand times do make sense.
The biggest reason is that electronic times don’t travel. When scouts go to campus or Pro Days, they don’t always have the benefit of electronic times. Therefore, a stopwatch by a scout can remain somewhat consistent from site to site.
This is all worth mentioning as Mike Mayock recently said that the team has no problem with Damon Arnette’s lackluster 40-time at the NFL Combine. In Indianapolis, Arnette ran an official 4.56 40-yard dash, which is in the 24th percentile among cornerbacks since 1999. But according to Mayock, the team had a much better time of 4.43 seconds.
Mayock also mentioned that Arnette plays much faster than the reported 4.56 40-yard dash and his speed was never a concern for the Raiders. But you have to admit, that’s a pretty big difference in timing, especially for a position that relies so much on speed.
So you be the judge. Time Arnette’s 40 for yourself and see what you get. Is your time closer to Mayock’s or the NFL?
