how fast can professional football players run 400m

Ess Gee Ess wrote:

get real wrote:

Football players don't run for 400 meters.

Robert Smith managed to circle one of them thar trackie poos in about 45 secs or so.

Split 45.4 for an NCAA champion relay team in '93. Two other footballers on his own team ran faster.

Anyone who thinks a receiver or DB can make a living in the NFL while not being able to break 50 has basically no knowledge of track OR football. Breaking 50 is not difficult if you're 10.5 fast, which is pretty darn slow for a receiver/DB in the NFL.

Speed is of such importance in higher levels of football that a 14.4 high hurdler was recruited to Southern Cal to play tight end (Freddie Davis, now with the Redskins). It's of such importance that Ted Ginn Jr still has a job, even though he can't catch for shit. His own father was smart enough to put him at DB in high school, but the knuckleheads at OSU who never pass the damn ball thought they were smart...

Jordan Kent ran 10.4 and sub-47 and he's barely hanging on in the NFL as a practice team player on one of the worst teams in the league. If he were that much faster than the average wideout and db he'd be playing by now.

They are very, very fast athletes.

The OP is asking about football players generally, across the range of positions. I stand by the statement that pro footbal players aren't geared toward, interested in, trained for, whatever you want to insert, racing 400m. Sure there are a few guys you can come up with, like Robert Smith, but aside from the receivers, DBs, and now a running back who retired years ago, it just isn't happening at a reasonable pace. I am sure they can finish it, but not as a runner would race it. It would look like either: a) go out like a bat out of hell and achieve an early rigor mortis like state, and probably pull a hammy; or b) stride 300 and sprint the straight home.

Umm ... ever hear of Darrell Green?

Green's all-time collegiate best in the 100 was 10.08, 20.50 in the 200 and 45.90 in the 40

I'm sick of the defensiveness of all you runners on this board. Do you REALLY think that an average WR/DB can't break 50 in the 400? Are you insane? Is it that heartbreaking that the people who bullied you in school can do what you love better than you?`

Seriously, 50s 400m is an absolute joke for pro wr/dbs. A joke. Don't act like it's difficult because you can't do it. Like someone said, these football players can run 10.50 in a 100m. Probably around a 21 flat in a 200m. And you think they can't run 50.0? Geez! The 4 wide receivers from my high school (NONE of whom were recruited) all decided to run track their sr year of high school. In the first day of practice, we had a time trial. They ran 51,51,51,53. And our team sucked--didn't even qualify for the state playoffs.

And to think the pros, who are faster, more conditioned, and more mature, can't break 50? These are the best of the best. I dare anyone here talking smack about these football players to challenge them in a 400m. They would dust you and roll you apart.

By the way I've run sub 50 before. It ain't that difficult people, if you have an ounce of athleticism.

Listen,

Fast twitch muscle fiber describes almost every NFL palyer. Great for the 100, decent for the 400, terrible for the mile. Half backs, wide recievers, and dbs can go under 50 because they have such great sprinting speed. BUT nobody else on the field can! Most of the hbs, wrs, and dbs, aren't going under 50 by a huge margin w/o further training - you're the idiot if you kid yourself into thinking they ALL really have world class speed. The burners, sure, they can run 47 w/o any specific training, there are some. But linebackers, qbs, fbs, linemen, none of them are smelling a sub 50.

How many people are going to keep coming up with examples of WRs, DBs, and RBs? Can we concede those positions? Move on to the rest of the team, jocksniffs.

You are out of your mind if you think Michael Vick can't run sub 62....or you on Niquil?.....a whole bottle.

i still dont think a halfback can go under 50. they are built for hitting the line hard. their stride would be pathetic.

My 100 person graduating high school class had four white guys run low 50's. Only one ran in college. These were complete nerds. Of course NFL guys are in the 40's!

NFL What? wrote:

But linebackers, qbs, fbs, linemen, none of them are smelling a sub 50.

Iowa has a small town white boy LB, Tyler Nielsen who ran 49.xx electronicly timed in HS. I would guess that over half of NFL LBs could break 50 with a few weeks of focus. The level of athleticism has risen more at LB in the last 15-20 years than at any other position.

Dennis Dixon is a QB for Pittsburgh, I am 100% certain he could break 50 for a 400.

Brett Favre, maybe he could break 90. There is a huge range of speed at QB.

I'm pretty sure high school FB players would fare BETTER than their professional counterparts (relative to their abilities), because they are of human size, not steroid-infused behemoths like the guys in the NFL. Most 400 runners aren't huge. There's even some skinny guys who can hack it (Wariner for example). NFL guys are TOO BIG to run a great 400. Sub 60 for sure, but very few of those guys would be breaking 50. Some could. Lots could if they trained for it. But pluck 'em off the practice field and put 'em on the track? No way.

I'm sure on letsplayfootball.com they are asking how many times various pro track/field athletes can bench the 225 pounds that they do at the combine. Distance runners are getting a resounding 0. Throwers are getting some love, just like here people are high on DB/WRs and low on QBs.

I bet every NFL team has at least 5 guys that could go under 50 with a bit of training

Butterfly 2 wrote:

You are out of your mind if you think Michael Vick can't run sub 62....or you on Niquil?.....a whole bottle.

No, I'm not on Nyquil nor am I out of mind. That's my opinion, friend.

Vick spent 23 months in prison. He may have lifted and "pumped some iron" but I doubt what work he was able to do would have helped him in any way retain what natural speed he has.

I'm willing to concede he likely could have run that time prior to his incarceration. But that isn't generally the point of this here thread.

62 is a mediocre high school girls time and you don't think someone like Michael Vick could run that? Come on man, he's a f***ing PRO athlete at a position where within the scheme his speed is important. NFL teams don't give out a million dollars as charity, they do it because he can still play. Go f*** yourself.

Mtn dew wrote:

I bet every NFL team has at least 5 guys that could go under 50 with a bit of training

I agree but am willing to drop the bit of training and say right now

haha, YO wrote:

NFL teams don't give out a million dollars as charity, they do it because he can still play.

Irrelevant to this topic, which is whether he could run it in 62 seconds.

haha, YO wrote:

Go f*** yourself.

My god!