Twitter Reacts to Elijah Holyfield’s Slow 40 Yard Dash Time

The 40 yard dash is far and away the most glamorous event of the NFL Combine. After putting up big numbers on the bench press, former UGA RB Elijah Holyfield ran a 40-yard dash that’ll spark some doubt over his NFL Draft stock.

Per Roto Street:

#UGA RB Elijah Holyfield with an unofficial 4.78 first attempt and 4.81 on his second attempt at the 40 yard dash….not great. #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/UrSLuDKpNZ

— Roto Street Journal (@RotoStJournal) March 1, 2019

For many positions a 4.8 40-yard dash time is acceptable, but it gets more heavily scrutinized as a RB, DB, or WR. Here’s some of the reaction Holyfield’s time got from NFL Draft Matt Miller expert on Twitter:

4.79 for Elijah Holyfield is eye opening. His tape didn’t show breakaway speed but thought his power and patience would make up for it. But that’s fail level slow. Not good.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 1, 2019

Two punters and one kicker ran the 40 faster than running back Elijah Holyfield.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 1, 2019

I think Elijah Holyfield's dad knocked some guys out faster than he ran the 40.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 1, 2019

The RB position is about much more than just straight line speed, so his NFL future shouldn’t be doubted despite the slow time. Holyfield is still capable of things like this:

What was Elijah Holyfield’s 40 on this play? pic.twitter.com/c2kzUM4Izf

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) March 1, 2019

Holyfield has impressive tape, but NFL teams take note of subpar combine performances. Still, the past decade has not been kind to RBs who ran times similar to Holyfield:

I know we tend to overreact to 40-yard dash times,
but Elijah Holyfield's terrible performance is significant.

Here's a list of all the running backs that have ran a 40 yard dash >= 4.70 at the combine.

Not a good list to be associated with.#NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/nEAE7MPNxg

— Jet Set Fantasy Football (@JetSetDynasty) March 1, 2019