I'm a lover a speed (sometimes too much; I definitely err on the side of falling in love with speed and end up wanting players that have ended up being busts at times- see John Ross, though I didn't become a John Ross fan because of his 40 time, I was a fan of his after watching the college match-up of him vs Adoree Jackson. Some of that is the difference between quickness and natural speed. Berrian was a sprinter who came from a family of naturally fast guys (iirc he was the slowest of his three brothers). Quickness is acceleration, velocity is speed. Not everyone who has top-end speed has a great start, and even with a great start the combine 40 is weird, where timing starts as soon as you move and that weird start position with your arm back. Generally speaking, the combine 40 is measuring acceleration, not top-end speed (though some people can overcome bad starts with blazing top-end speed).
Here's what I look for when they say a football player is fast.
- If it's a WR, whether it's a RAC run or a bomb, I look at the distance between himself and the other players. Basically, in that footrace with the defense (or offense if we're talking defensive player), is he gaining ground, losing ground, or neutral? If it's a defensive back, has he been in a trailing position to have to run down a receiver that maybe got past a teammate? Does he catch or gain ground on that receiver?
- You don't always get footage on this one, but I look to see if they can outrun the angle. This means being so fast that even when someone has the angle on you, you beat them anyway. This is rare speed; and the best example of this would be to go back and watch Chris Johnson's East Carolina highlights ()
- Check out their kickoff (not punt) return average. You see guys with a 21-22 yards per return, that's average. Not great, not terrible, just typical. When they start getting above 24 yards or so, and that's when you pay a little more attention. At the times when it's 26 yards or above, that's when it gets real. I go back to check other game footage to see if the speed shows in other places on the field- Renaldo Nehemiah being the perfect example of a guy who was blazing fast (probably one of the fastest NFL players ever) but a "track guy". For reference Gale Sayers holds the NFL record (to this day) for kickoff return average. But in general, looking at a guy's k/o return average will clue you in that he's got some speed. Here's a link to the kickoff return yards from last year: NCAA College Football FBS current individual Stats | NCAA.com
- Check out their 100m times. 10.1s in the 100m is Tyreek Hill speed. But a guy doesn't have to even be that fast to be dangerous. Anything 10.6 or below is going to be dangerous, if they can maintain that play that at that speed on the field.
