Conventional wisdom was that Kent State running back Dri Archer would have one of the best 40 times at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he came through Sunday, blazing to an official clocking of 4.26 seconds in his first attempt. It was the fastest time of the day.
Archer, who was one of the best sprinters in the state of Florida in high school, had boldly predicted he would break Tenneseee Titans RB Chris Johnson's combine record of 4.24, saying his personal best was a 4.21.
Archer fell just short Sunday, but the razor-thin margin was close enough to make the record-holder sweat a little.
No running back came close to Archer in the 40. The second-best clocking belonged to Georgia Southern's Jerick McKinnon at 4.41. McKinnon also led the running backs in the bench press with 32 reps -- not bad for a guy who spent a lot of time at quarterback as a senior.
The third-best time belonged to Missouri's Henry Josey at 4.43. Josey missed all of the 2012 injury because of a severe knee injury suffered near the end of the 2011 season.
Oregon's DeAnthony Thomas -- another former track guy who was expected to have one of the best times of the day -- disappointed with a 4.50 clocking.
Baylor's Lache Seastrunk was expected to have one of the top times, but his best was a 4.51. Seastrunk did impress in the vertical jump (41.5 inches) and the broad jump (11 feet, 2 inches).
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
