Philadelphia Eagles draft prospects: Jefferson versus Ruggs, 3 questions

1. How important is the 40 really?

So, when it was all said and done, Henry Ruggs didn’t break John Ross‘ record 40-yard dash time, but he did land in that 4.2 area. There’s no reason to hang your head after that type of showing though. Ruggs doesn’t seem to agree, but no one’s opinion of him has changed. All any Eagles fan or any fan of the other 31 teams cares about is this.

Dude can fly, and he’s a threat to score from anywhere on the field.

On January 21st, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah named Ruggs as his prediction for Philly at the draft’s 21 selection. On February 25th, in a more recent mock than the one he sent Shenault to the Eagles in, Bucky Brooks shared that sentiment. Depending on who you talk to, the debate about whether or not Jefferson is a first-round or a second-round draft choice is all over the place.

NFL.com’s Charley Casserly actually named Jefferson as his choice for Philly at 21 in his first official mock on February 18th. That drew the ire of some as the overriding sentiment has been that Philly wanted speed. We all knew Jefferson could cook, but was anyone really expecting 4.4 seconds in the 40?

Daniel Jeremiah called Jefferson’s effort “huge” as he stated the following.

"That’s the most important time that we’ve seen today. He’s a great player on tape, and now you’ve got some big-time legitimate speed on record to back it up."

Sure, Ruggs is faster, but Jefferson is just as good or better at just about everything else that makes for a successful NFL receiver. Knowing both of those facts makes the mind wander. How important is two-tenths of a second really?