While the top defensive linemen from around the nation generally put on an impressive showing in the weight room Saturday, the main event is seeing them take part in the 40-yard dash and other drills Sunday. As usual, the 40-yard dash dominates discussion, and for good reason -- it’s simply impressive watching some of these guys run.
NFL Combine results: Defensive linemen run the 40-yard dash
Vic Beasley was the top defensive lineman in the 40-yard dash Sunday, with a time of 4.53 seconds. The slowest player was one of the top prospects in the nation, Danny Shelton.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Nobody was more impressive than Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley, though. Beasley, who put up 35 reps in the bench press Saturday, turned in the fastest 40-yard dash time of all defensive linemen. He ran a 4.66 in his first attempt, and in his second put up a blistering 4.53. For the record, Beasley has suggested that he typically runs in the 4.6-4.7 range in workouts, so he exceeded even his own expectations.
Beasley’s time was the fastest and his day was certainly the most impressive -- he also posted 41-inch vertical jump and a 10’10 broad jump -- but there were other big-time performances as well. LSU defensive lineman Danielle Hunter managed to come close with a 4.57-second 40-yard dash. Both Eli Harold of Virginia and Dante Fowler of Florida ran a 4.6 flat, as well.
The slowest time went to Washington’s Danny Shelton, who ran a 5.64. Shelton was the heaviest defensive lineman at 339 pounds, though Ellis McCarthy of UCLA weighed in at 338 and ran a 5.21. Shelton is considered one of the top interior line prospects in this draft, behind only Leonard Williams of USC. Williams turned in a respectable 4.97 on Sunday.
Below, we’ve got a full table with Sunday’s 40 times:
| Player | School | Height | Weight | 40 time |
| Henry Anderson | Stanford | 6'6 | 294 | 5.03 |
| Arik Armstead | Oregon | 6'7 | 292 | 5.10 |
| Tavares Barnes | Clemson | 6'4 | 282 | 4.80 |
| Vic Beasley | Clemson | 6'3 | 246 | 4.53 |
| Michael Bennett | Ohio State | 6'2 | 293 | |
| Angelo Blackson | Auburn | 6'4 | 318 | 5.02 |
| Malcom Brown | Texas | 6'2 | 319 | 5.05 |
| Anthony Chickillo | Miami (FL) | 6'3 | 267 | 4.79 |
| Frank Clark | Michigan | 6'3 | 271 | 4.79 |
| Xavier Cooper | Washington State | 6'3 | 293 | 4.86 |
| Christian Covington | Rice | 6'2 | 289 | |
| Corey Crawford | Clemson | 6'5 | 283 | 5.01 |
| Carl Davis | Iowa | 6'5 | 320 | 5.07 |
| Tyeler Davidson | Fresno State | 6'2 | 316 | 5.16 |
| Ryan Delaire | Towson | 6'4 | 254 | 4.97 |
| B.J. Dubose | Louisville | 6'4 | 284 | 5.06 |
| Mario Edwards Jr. | Florida State | 6'3 | 279 | 4.84 |
| Kyle Emanuel | North Dakota State | 6'3 | 255 | 4.77 |
| Trey Flowers | Arkansas | 6'2 | 266 | 4.93 |
| Dante Fowler | Florida | 6'3 | 261 | 4.60 |
| Markus Golden | Missouri | 6'2 | 260 | 4.90 |
| Eddie Goldman | Florida State | 6'4 | 336 | |
| Randy Gregory | Nebraska | 6'5 | 235 | 4.64 |
| Marcus Hardison | Arizona State | 6'3 | 307 | |
| Eli Harold | Virginia | 6'3 | 247 | 4.60 |
| Zach Hodges | Harvard | 6'2 | 250 | 4.68 |
| Danielle Hunter | LSU | 6'5 | 252 | 4.57 |
| Martin Ifedi | Memphis | 6'3 | 275 | 4.88 |
| Grady Jarrett | Clemson | 6'1 | 304 | 5.06 |
| Derrick Lott | Tennessee-Chatt | 6'4 | 314 | 4.99 |
| Joey Mbu | Houston | 6'3 | 313 | 5.54 |
| Ellis McCarthy | UCLA | 6'5 | 338 | 5.21 |
| Rakeem Nunez-Roches | Southern Miss | 6'2 | 307 | 5.02 |
| Owa Odighizuwa | UCLA | 6'3 | 267 | 4.62 |
| Nate Orchard | Utah | 6'3 | 250 | 4.80 |
| Leon Orr | Florida | 6'5 | 323 | 5.16 |
| David Parry | Stanford | 6'1 | 308 | 5.38 |
| Jordan Phillips | Oklahoma | 6'5 | 329 | 5.17 |
| Darius Philon | Arkansas | 6'1 | 298 | 5.00 |
| Shane Ray | Missouri | 6'3 | 245 | |
| Cedric Reed | Texas | 6'5 | 269 | |
| Bobby Richardson | Indiana | 6'3 | 283 | 5.16 |
| Ryan Russell | Purdue | 6'4 | 269 | 4.75 |
| Danny Shelton | Washington | 6'2 | 339 | 5.64 |
| Deon Simon | Northwestern State | 6'4 | 321 | 5.12 |
| Preston Smith | Mississippi State | 6'5 | 271 | 4.74 |
| Za'Darius Smith | Kentucky | 6'4 | 274 | 4.83 |
| J.T. Surratt | South Carolina | 6'1 | 304 | 5.19 |
| Lyndon Trail | Norfolk State | 6'7 | 269 | 4.91 |
| Louis Trinca-Pasat | Iowa | 6'1 | 290 | 4.96 |
| Davis Tull | Tennessee-Chatt | 6'2 | 246 | |
| Zack Wagenmann | Montana | 6'3 | 247 | 4.82 |
| L.T. Walton | Central Michigan | 6'5 | 319 | 5.25 |
| Leonard Williams | Southern Cal | 6'5 | 302 | 4.97 |
| Gabe Wright | Auburn | 6'3 | 300 | 5.07 |
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