2013 NFL combine results: Who is slower than FSU kicker Dustin Hopkins?

Dustin Hopkins is a kicker, but he took part in a good percentage of the drills at the NFL Combine. He might be faster than the guy your team will draft at running back.

by Rodger Sherman

Feb 25, 2013, 4:00 PM UTC

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One of the time-honored traditions of the NFL Combine is guys being timed doing random tasks which don't translate to their position. Case in point: fat guy 40-yard dashes. It might be pointless, but it allows us to do one thing: see which skill position players are slower than Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins.

There’s no real need for kickers to do combine drills. Sure, they have to run down kickoffs, but they’ll generally only have to make a play in that department if the other ten guys on the unit don’t do their jobs. For the most part, they could show their worth to NFL teams in Indianapolis just by lining up on the field and showing how many field goals they could hit. For the most part, we think of kickers and punters as the weak weirdo who sort of chills on his own for most of the game and then has to come out and nail high-pressure kicks, not on the same physical level as his freakishly athletic teammates.

But some guys take pride in their speed and ability to contribute in non-kicking departments. Former Cowboys kickoff specialist David Buehler - a linebacker in high school and sometimes fullback in college - made a point of going through all the combine drills and challenged teammates to races - and won. This year, of the six kickers and seven punters, at the combine, only a few decided to go through with drills: Hopkins, the kicker with the most points in NCAA history, Arizona State punter Josh Hubner, and Arkansas punter Dylan Breeding. They're either going through the drills just for the hell of it, to prove their work ethic or because they genuinely believe their physical attributes put them ahead of the competition. Watch Hopkins run and decide amongst yourselves:

(Note: only one long snapper was invited to the combine. Congratulations to Hawaii's Luke Ingram, apparently the best long snapper in the country and the loneliest man in Indianapolis.)

Their combine numbers are in, which means that without further ado, we present SKILL POSITION PLAYERS WHO ARE WORSE AT PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES THAN KICKERS AND PUNTERS. You’d be surprised - there’s some elite names in there.

People as slow or slower than Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins (4.74 40)

Missouri WR T.J. Moe (4.74)

Cincinnati RB George Winn (4.75)

Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor (4.76)

SMU RB Zach Line (4.77)

Kansas State QB Collin Klein (4.78) (actually, every quarterback except for Geno Smith, Matt Scott, EJ Manuel, and MarQuies Gray was slower than Hopkins - Klein's particularly noteworthy among the slowpokes since he's considered a dual-threat guy.)

Fresno State RB Robbie Rouse (4.80)

Pittsburgh RB Ray Graham (4.80)