It’s rare that you can find a linebacker who can keep pace with some of the NFL’s fastest receivers, but the Buccaneers have one in Devin White.
White participated in a race along with three NFL receivers that aired on the Bleacher Report app Thursday afternoon. All the athletes were in different locations and each was challenged to run a 40-yard dash.
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Though White didn’t win, he still posted a 4.37-second time in the 40-yard dash, good for third in the race and 0.13 seconds faster than star receiver Justin Jefferson. He trailed the likes of Mecole Hardman and Henry Ruggs by under 0.15 seconds.
#Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman, #Raiders WR Henry Ruggs, #Buccaneers LB Devin White, #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson did a 40-yard race, here are the results:
1) Hardman – 4.22
2) Ruggs – 4.26
3) White – 4.37
4) Jefferson – 4.5.[@brgridiron]
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 20, 2021
Truth be told, White’s time might be the most impressive of them all. He wasn’t the fastest, but he managed to clock the 4.37 time despite weighing 237 pounds. For context, Hardman is just 178 pounds while Ruggs is 188. And Jefferson, who White beat, tips the scales at 202.
Suffice to say, that’s an incredible combination of size and speed, and one that few NFL players would be able to match.
Additionally, White has shaved 0.05 seconds off his 40-yard dash time since he participated in the 2019 NFL Combine. Back then, he ran a 4.42-second 40, just 0.01 seconds faster than Devin Bush.
If White ran at the combine today and posted the time he did in the Bleacher Report race, it would be the fastest 40-yard dash ever recorded by a linebacker. Shaquem Griffin’s 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Combine is the fastest LB combine time on record.
This number doesn’t mean much for White; it just helps confirm what we already knew.
He is one freaky-good athlete.