As someone who was involved in scouting, why are the 40-yard numbers so important? Unless you're Al Davis, I don't see why anyone would go "well he's an average football but he can run fast ... first round pick". We see guys go up and down the charts every year based on 40 time alone and it just seems weird to discredit hours of game tape over a brisk sprint
Here is how I was taught Combine scouting, by a GM that assembled a team that went to a Super Bowl:
--40 yard dash is important only for CBs and WRs and return guys
--the first 10 yards is the most critical number for everyone
--compare/contrast the 40 time with the short shuttle time. If they are the same or very close, the player is straight-line speed and not quick. That can work at WR but means a LB or a RB is too stiff
--for linemen, the 10 yard split is all that matters but the short shuttle time is far more important
--broad jump and 3-cone drill are good measures of overall athleticism, vertical is indicative of explosive athletic prowess. They are used only to reinforce game tape, not override it
Some draftnik (I sadly don't remember who and I can't find it on Google) did a fantastic article last draft season about the correlation between fast 40 times but not great short shuttle times with pass rushers and corners and how almost all the players that fit in that have been disappointments if not outright busts. Like, if a corner ran a 4.38 40 but his short shuttle time was 4.37, he's a stiff sprinter and not flexible or agile and was less likely to succeed than a corner who ran 4.5 in the 40 but 4.39 in the short shuttle.
