Darren Woodson's 40 time entering draft?

[Biggems]

does anyone know what it was?

 

[Rampage]

it doesn't matter anyways

 

[MichaelWinicki]

does anyone know what it was?

From my recollection it was 4.50 but some people reported that he ran 4.45.

The challenge for Woody was that he seemingly didn't have a position coming out of college. He played a "hybrid" (that's for you Nors where ever you are ) position that combined some of the positional requirements of both a safety and a linebacker-- he was considered too small to be an NFL linebacker and not experienced enough to be a true safety. Hence that's why he dropped into 2nd round.

From what Woodson has said it appears Jimmy Johnson (and possibly others on the staff) thought Woodson had the mechanical ability to be a fine pass defender so he spent a lot of training camp time covering wide receivers-as a cornerback almost.

Woodson had four attributes that made him a terrific safety...

1. He's smart. You can tell that by just listening to him.
2. He was good sized for a safety.
3. He was fast for a safety.
4. He had the hip flexibility of a corner. He could turn and run very quickly. Safeties like Steve Atwater and Roy both had decent straight line speed but neither had the ability to turn and run like Woodson.

 

[theogt]

it doesn't matter anyways

We can always count on you to come through with the helpful, indeed thoughtful, posts.

 

[Biggems]

well he was a LB in college, but his coach made him run secondary drills as well....so he was groomed at both positions for 4 years.

his 40 time does matter.....especially when comparing him to current prospects. BTW....I don't see any LBs or S with Woody's skill set in the draft...BUMMER.

 

[jcollins28]

Woody was/is my favorite Cowboy. Had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and I never met a player or person for that matter who just had that smile and and vibe that instantly made you feel better about yourself. What I loved about Woody is that you could tell he loved being a football player it showed in everything that he did. While other players may come across as arrogant or that dealing with fans may be a pain in the but Woody never ever let that be known to anyone he was dealing with. The man was a true professional who loved his chosen career. He is truly one of the best people ever to represent this franchise.

 

[J-DOG]

Woody was clocked as a 4.38 forty by Ourlad's scouting service.
He was listed as a OLB in that publication.
In the scouting report they said he could make a successful change to safety with the speed he had.
I remember this because I bought the publication and had Woodson and Jimmy Smith as sleeper picks before that draft.
Needless to say I was on cloud 9 when we picked both in the second round.

 

[cowboyed]

it doesn't matter anyways

bigbadroy, that's beautiful. One bit of advice, cut down on your long winded answers, won't you.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

Woody was clocked as a 4.38 forty by Ourlad's scouting service.
He was listed as a OLB in that publication.
In the scouting report they said he could make a successful change to safety with the speed he had.
I remember this because I bought the publication and had Woodson and Jimmy Smith as sleeper picks before that draft.
Needless to say I was on cloud 9 when we picked both in the second round.

No way he was that fast.

4.5's are more realistic.

Linebackers dont run 4.3's unless your Patrick Willis.

 

[J-DOG]

No way he was that fast.

4.5's are more realistic.

Linebackers dont run 4.3's unless your Patrick Willis.

Forty times are only revelent from the source that takes it.

So take for what it's worth.

Woody was able to cover the slot wr for most of his career and did it very well.

Arizona St used a rover type of position in thier defense. Woodson played that position. Also a guy by the name of Pat Tillman did as well.

Woodson at 218lbs was seen as a tweener type of player going into that draft.

Nobody in the NFL at that time was going to draft him as a OLB at that weight.

He had question marks about his ability to cover going into that draft because of the position he played in college.

He was fast...and yes he was as fast as Willis.

You telling me you believe Willis time but not Woody's?

 

[big dog cowboy]

"hybrid"

I've heard those get really good gas mileage.

 

[dogberry]

Is it wrong to miss Nors?

 

[speedkilz88]

No way he was that fast.

4.5's are more realistic.

Linebackers dont run 4.3's unless your Patrick Willis.

Darren was always reported as a sub 4.4 guy(the 4.38 was a legitimate time), even on the website his personal bio listed his time as 4.40. I got into an argument on a message board years ago over his speed. For some reason many think he wasn't very fast.

His position at Arizona St. was called the monster back, I believe. And Darren mentioned on an interview I saw recently that Jimmy had him working in training camp doing corner back drills which really helped him become a quality slot guy.

 

[Aikbach]

From my recollection it was 4.50 but some people reported that he ran 4.45.

The challenge for Woody was that he seemingly didn't have a position coming out of college. He played a "hybrid" (that's for you Nors where ever you are ) position that combined some of the positional requirements of both a safety and a linebacker-- he was considered too small to be an NFL linebacker and not experienced enough to be a true safety. Hence that's why he dropped into 2nd round.

From what Woodson has said it appears Jimmy Johnson (and possibly others on the staff) thought Woodson had the mechanical ability to be a fine pass defender so he spent a lot of training camp time covering wide receivers-as a cornerback almost.

Woodson had four attributes that made him a terrific safety...

1. He's smart. You can tell that by just listening to him.
2. He was good sized for a safety.
3. He was fast for a safety.
4. He had the hip flexibility of a corner. He could turn and run very quickly. Safeties like Steve Atwater and Roy both had decent straight line speed but neither had the ability to turn and run like Woodson.

Atwater is probably a good comparison for Roy, they are similar, Roy is bigger and was more celebrated out of college but they are both big hitting and playmaking safeties that are missing a little extra something that leaves them special but not legendary.

 

[AdamJT13]

According to the late, great Joel Buchsbaum, Darren Woodson was 6-1 3/4, 219 pounds and ran a 4.44 when he was in the 1992 draft.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Woodson covered WR's so I think he was pretty fast...

 

[theogt]

No way he was that fast.

4.5's are more realistic.

Linebackers dont run 4.3's unless your Patrick Willis.

Willis ran a 4.51 at the Combine. His pro day number is highly suspect.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

According to the late, great Joel Buchsbaum, Darren Woodson was 6-1 3/4, 219 pounds and ran a 4.44 when he was in the 1992 draft.

I could believe that.

But to say Woody had the same speed as Santana Moss or Reggie Bush is a pipe dream.

 

[Bizwah]

No way he was that fast.

4.5's are more realistic.

Linebackers dont run 4.3's unless your Patrick Willis.

Oh yes he was that fast.

It was in almost every publication that he ran sub 4.5....He also had a pretty good vertical too.

He used to cover WRs in our nickle defense. That was why he was so valuable to us.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

Oh yes he was that fast.

It was in almost every publication that he ran sub 4.5....He also had a pretty good vertical too.

He used to cover WRs in our nickle defense. That was why he was so valuable to us.

Found this... Not trying to question his value as he is one of my all time favorites, just his 4.3 speed..


DBs. Again, speed. Jimmy said he wanted four corners in his secondary, so that all of them could cover. So nobody who ran over 4.55 made the cut, for corners or safeties. The one time he went against type was when he drafted Darren Woodson in ‘92. Woodson had been a linebacker at Arizona State, but he was the fastest linebacker at the ‘92 combine (ran a 4.47 40), and his slight size — for a linebacker — made him a candidate to play safety. (Most conversions go the other way, with big safeties converted to linebackers.) It also didn’t hurt that Woodson could cover anybody, receivers included.

http://theboysblog.com/2005/03/29/preparing-for-the-draft-part-three-know-your-teams-profile/