Okay, so I got thinking about Devin Hester the other day. You know, the return guy? Absolutely electric. Made watching special teams actually exciting. Anyway, it got me wondering about his speed, specifically that legendary 40 time everyone mentions.
My Digging Process
So, I decided to look it up, just to refresh my memory. Fired up the old search engine. My first step was just typing in the basics, something like “Devin Hester 40 yard dash time”.
Right away, the number that pops up everywhere is 4.43 seconds. That was his official time at the NFL Combine back in 2006. Okay, solid time. Definitely fast. That lines up with what you saw on the field, the guy just pulling away from everybody.
But then, I kinda remembered hearing whispers or seeing comments about even crazier times. You know how it is with Combine numbers versus Pro Day times. Sometimes guys run faster when they’re back on their home turf, more comfortable.
- Started searching specifically for his Pro Day results.
- Looked through some old forum discussions and blog posts from around that time.
- Tried different search terms like “Hester fastest 40” or “Devin Hester Pro Day 40”.
Found some chatter about unofficial times, hand times, stuff like that. People were throwing around numbers like 4.35, even lower sometimes. It gets a bit messy trying to pin down those unofficial numbers because, well, they’re unofficial. Different stopwatches, different people timing, you get the idea.
What I Settled On
After poking around for a bit, here’s what I gathered:
The official, recorded-in-the-books time is that 4.43 from the Combine. That’s the number the NFL uses.
Did he run faster at his Pro Day or in other workouts? Maybe. Probably, even. Those lower numbers like 4.35 seem plausible given how he played. But finding concrete, reliable proof for those unofficial times is tough.
Honestly, spending time digging into this just reminded me how ridiculously fast Hester was. Whether it was 4.43 or 4.35 or whatever, the dude had game-breaking speed. Watching his highlights again after looking this up? Still amazing. The numbers are cool, but seeing him actually outrun entire teams on returns tells the real story. That was my little research project for the day.
