Jonathan Taylor got the room buzzing when he posted an unofficial time of 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine Friday night. When he was done, the former University of Wisconsin tailback got even faster.

Taylor’s recalibrated time yielded him an official time of 4.39 seconds, the fastest time of all the running backs at the combine. Putting his time in perspective, Taylor’s 40-yard dash time was one hundredth of a second faster than Saquon Barkley in 2018. Barkley was picked second that season and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Proving it wasn’t a fluke, Taylor ran an unofficial 4.42 on his second 40-yard dash.

Part of the buzz was generated because of the speed contained in Taylor’s bigger frame. Weighing in at 226 pounds, the third-heaviest at his position, Taylor joined Barkley as one of just two backs in the last seven combines to run a sub-4.5 at 225 pounds or more. His 40-yard time at the Combine was also faster than bigger backs Adrian Peterson, David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott and Nick Chubb when they did the drill out of college.

Finished his Wisconsin career with 6,174 rushing yards and 55 total touchdowns, including consecutive 2,000-yard seasons that earned him consecutive Doak Walker Awards, Taylor also did 17 reps on the bench press, had a 36-inch vertical jump and a 123-inch broad jump. He also looked polish in running route and catching passes, an aspect of his game he featured throughout his junior season.

Taylor looks to be the first UW tailback selected in the NFL draft since Montee Ball (2013), James White (2014) and Melvin Gordon (2015) were drafted in three consecutive seasons. Derek Watt also was selected as a fullback in 2016.

White and Gordon combined with 2017 free agent signees Corey Clement and Dare Ogunbowale to give Wisconsin four tailbacks in the NFL this season. Fullbacks Watt and 2019 undrafted free agent Alec Ingold made it six former UW running backs in the league.