Unless you’re a hard-core draft junkie or a fan of Arkansas Pine-Bluff, you’ve probably never heard of Terron Armstead. But he just did something unprecedented at the Scouting Combine.
Armstead ran his 40-yard dash in an unofficial time of 4.65 seconds, which is stunningly fast for a 306-pound offensive tackle. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said he had never seen an offensive lineman finish a 40 in less than 4.7 seconds, and according to NFL.com, the Combine record for an offensive lineman before Armstead’s stunning run this morning was 4.84 seconds, set by Allen Barbre in 2007.
Armstead is a freakish all-around athlete who was also an outstanding shot putter in college, but the question, of course, is whether he can translate that athleticism to playing at the NFL level. And on that score, the early indications are good: Although he didn’t play against high-quality competition at Arkansas Pine-Bluff, he was a good college player who was so impressive at the East-West Shrine Game that he got a late invitation to the Senior Bowl.
So there are signs that NFL scouts think Armstead can play. We certainly know he can run.
UPDATE 12:51 p.m. ET: Armstead’s official time was 4.71 seconds, the fastest ever for an offensive lineman at the Scouting Combine. Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson was right on Armstead’s heels with an official time of 4.72 seconds, the second-fastest ever for an offensive lineman.
