Who is the fastest cornerback in the 2023 NFL Draft?
There’s no shortage of speed in the 2023 cornerback class, with DJ Turner of Michigan leading the class with a 40 time measured officially at 4.26.
The leader may have posted his time at the combine, but this list includes much more than the combine participants. We have verified 40 yard dash times from 232 corners in the 2023 class, including players from all levels of college football.
Among the top cornerback prospects, only Garrett Williams and Rejzohn Wright didn’t end up running a 40 during the process.
The fastest verified times are:
1st – DJ Turner, Michigan
40 Time: 4.26
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 178 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 38.5″ Vertical, 131″ Broad Jump
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
2nd – Jakorian Bennett, Maryland
40 Time: 4.30
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 188 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 13 reps. 40.5″ Vertical, 133″ Broad Jump
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
3rd – Kaleb Hayes, BYU
40 Time: 4.33
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 194 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 17 reps, 40″ Vertical, 128″ Broad Jump, 6.88 cone drill, 4.27 shuttle
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: Pro Day
4th – Ameer Speed, Michigan State
40 Time: 4.34
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 209 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 14 reps, 32.5″ Vertical, 123″ Broad Jump, 6.99 cone drill, 4.26 shuttle
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: Pro Day
T-5th – Deonte Banks, Maryland
40 Time: 4.35
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 197 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 42″ Vertical, 136″ Broad Jump
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
T-5th – Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State
40 Time: 4.35
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 166 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 37.5″ Vertical, 131″ Broad Jump
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
T-5th – Isaiah Bolden, Jackson State
40 Time: 4.35
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 201 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 38″ Vertical, 129″ Broad Jump, 4.63 shuttle
Division of Football: FCS
Measured At: Pro Day
T-8th – Kelee Ringo, Georgia
40 Time: 4.36
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 207 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 33.5″ Vertical, 122″ Broad Jump, 7.21 cone drill, 4.26 shuttle
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
T-8th – Darius Rush, South Carolina
40 Time: 4.36
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 198 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 35″ Vertical, 121″ Broad Jump
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: NFL Combine
T-8th – Art Green, Houston
40 Time: 4.36
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 201 pounds
Other Athletic Measurables: 36″ Vertical, 122″ Broad Jump, 7.02 cone drill, 4.26 shuttle
Division of Football: FBS
Measured At: Pro Day
Other Notable Times
Three players narrowly missed the cut, finishing 2/100th-of-a-second shy of 10th place.
Those three were Christian Gonzalez, Starling Thomas, and Benito Speight. Each ran a 4.38. Some reports had Starling Thomas running much faster at his pro day, but 4.38 were the confirmed times I saw from NFL scouts.
Other top prospects to note:
- Cam Smith: 4.43
- Tyrique Stevenson: 4.45
- Devon Witherspoon: 4.45
- Joey Porter Jr.: 4.46
- Clark Phillips III: 4.51
- Julius Brents: 4.53
Fastest CBs Visualization
Top wide receivers in the class are depicted by their school’s logo, including Christian Gonzalez, Joey Porter Jr., Devon Witherspoon, Deonte Banks, DJ Turner, Kelee Ringo, Julius Brents, Cam Smith, Clark Phillips III, Emmanuel Forbes, Tyrique Stevenson, Darius Rush, Riley Moss, Terell Smith, Cory Trice, Eli Ricks, Kyu Blu Kelly, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, Jakorian Bennett, Mekhi Blackmon, Darrell Luter Jr., Kei’Trel Clark, Jaylon Jones, Carrington Valentine, Starling Thomas V, Isaiah Bolden, Mekhi Garner, Alex Austin, Cameron Mitchell, Christian Braswell, Lance Boykin, and Arquon Bush.
I had to remove the trendline here because there were so many corners who are both small and slow who literally reversed the correlation.
Click here to check out our official 2023 draft cornerback rankings.
Want to see more 40 times? More details are provided in our free 2023 NFL Draft prospect database.
