Auburn cornerback Jonathan Jones may have raised his 2016 NFL Draft profile just a bit Monday when he lit the track on fire running an unofficial 4.28-second 40-yard dash.
It was the fastest time we’ve seen all week from anyone at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The first three days were quite uninspiring, to be honest, and the receivers ran slower this year than they have in half a decade. That all changed Monday morning when Jones smoked his first attempt, which came close to challenging Chris Johnson’s electronic-timed all-time mark of 4.24 seconds.
4.28u!!!
That's what @FootballAU CB Jonathan Jones ran in his first 40 attempt! #NFLCombine https://t.co/CBTEte29jH
— NFL (@NFL) February 29, 2016
Jones followed it up with a second run of 4.33 seconds, proving his first one was legit.
Showing off this type of speed could be huge for Jones, who is extremely undersized for an NFL defensive back. Measuring in at 5-foot-9 and 186 pounds, he had a Tyrann Mathieu-type impact at the college level as a junior to make up for a lack of size.
His blazing speed, combined with oustanding agility and fluid hips, could be enough to give him a shot at making an NFL roster this summer.