So Mississippi tackle Laremy Tunsil won’t run the 40-yard dash before the draft. So what?
While those obsessed with measurables in a process that ultimately hinges on the unmeasurable, the question of how quickly an offensive tackle can cover 120 feet means little to his success. Case in point: Bruce Campbell.
Remember Bruce Campbell? If you don’t, we don’t blame you.
Campbell was a flash in the pan prospect who ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash at the tackle position.
Due to his college game film from Maryland, Campbell was a fourth-round draft pick despite the ultra-fast 40. He appeared in 10 games as a rookie, four in 2011, five in 2012 -- with zero career starts. And that was that.
In contrast, former Notre Dame tackle Zack Martin never ran a 40-yard dash before the 2014 draft. And the Cowboys took tackle Martin with the 16th overall pick that, if owner Jerry Jones had his way, would have gone to Johnny Manziel.
Martin simply capped his rookie season by being named a first-team All Pro.
So even though former Cowboys scout Gil Brandt has pointed out that the team never drafted a player in his 29 years there without confirmed times, it’s a good thing that policy wasn’t in place a pair of years ago. Otherwise, they may have selected instead a guy who ran the 40 -- and who has taken the fast lane right out of the league.