If the NFL quarterbacks sent chills down Thursday night, it was probably because they watched Nolan Smith at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Georgia pass rusher showed up in front of a wide array of league judges and ranked at the top of his positional group in a series of individual practices. This includes the 40-yard dash.
During that practice, Smith officially stopped with a stunning 4.39-second, 40-yard dash that edged out Tennessee’s Byron Young (4.43) and fellow Bulldog Robert Beal Jr. (4.48), who were the next fastest were. According to NFL ResearchSmith’s time was the second-fastest by a defender in combine history behind Virginia Tech’s Amaré Barno in 2022.
What makes that run even more remarkable is that Smith’s time not only beat his fellow edge rushers, but also better than a trio of All-Pro players currently in the league. Smith was faster than Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins and Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs when they left college. Diggs ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the 2015 combine while Hopkins was well behind Smith at 4.57 seconds. Oh, and he was also faster than Giants star running back Saquon Barkley, who ran a 4.40.
Adding to the incredibly fast speed at which Smith was moving, he was noticeably upset with his results when the unofficial timer noted he was running a 4.44, which would still be an impressive sprint. At the request of Stacey Dales of the NFL Network As for why he was upset, he told her that he “didn’t even run at full speed”. Smith also told Dales that he practiced in the 4.3 seconds ahead of the combine.
Smith also led his positional group in vertical jump (41.50″) and 10-yard split (1.52 seconds). At 238 pounds, he is now the heaviest player with a 40-plus vertical and a sub 4.40 40 in combining since 2003 and ousted DK Metcalf in 2019.
Smith is currently CBS Sports’ sixth-ranked edge rushing prospect in that class of 2023 and 36th prospect overall. In his most recent two-round mock draft, CBS Sports senior NFL draft pick Ryan Wilson knocked out Smith 32nd overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers.