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KJ Hamler Won’t Run 40-Yard Dash At NFL Scouting Combine, Set To Meet With Philadelphia Eagles

Penn State football’s KJ Hamler told reporters that he won’t participate in this year’s 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine this week.

Hamler said he “tweaked” his hamstring while training for this week’s Combine, and that’ll keep him out of the 40-yard dash equation in Indianapolis. He will, however, still participate in the bench-press drill, and he’ll run the 40-yard dash at Penn State’s pro day later this year.

“Unfortunately, I’m not doing all the drills,” Hamler said, according to 247Sports. “I tweaked my [hamstring] during training. I will be doing bench press, so you guys are going to see how strong I am. I’m not doing the 40 unfortunately.”

Hamler, who officially checked in at 5’8″ (with an extra 5/8 of an inch!) and 178 pounds at the Combine, said he completed the 40-yard dash in a staggering 4.27 seconds when he suffered the apparent hamstring injury. For context, only five players in the history of the NFL Scouting Combine have ever posted a faster time than 4.27 seconds.

Current Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross holds the all-time record with a 4.22-second 40-yard dash, and former Tennessee Titans star Chris Johnson ran the dash in 4.24 seconds. Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin — a key cog in the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl run last season — ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash back in 2013. Last year, Zedrick Woods ran the fastest 40-yard dash with a time of 4.29 seconds.

“I was going to run in the 4.2-range,” Hamler said. “I wasn’t going to accept anything less.”

Hamler not running the 40-yard dash this week is a disappointing development, but the fact that he’s doing it at Penn State’s pro day should attract more scouts to Happy Valley on its own. Aside from that, Hamler told reporters that he’s set to meet with representatives from the Philadelphia Eagles this week.

The electric wideout spoke quite a bit about the Eagles during his press conference at the Combine. He said that he models his game after DeSean Jackson — an Eagles icon who also entered the league as a lightning-quick, but undersized wideout. Hamler also noted one of his more obvious connections to Philadelphia’s organization when chatting with reporters.

“Miles [Sanders] is really my best friend,” Hamler said. “We were roommates in college, so I always call him and he calls me probably every week or so. We keep in touch a lot. He talks to me, just tells me about the process: Keep focused, stay humble, you got to grind every day.”

In addition to his scheduled meeting with the Eagles, Hamler has met with the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, according to multiple reports.

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About the Author

Mikey Mandarino

In the most upsetting turn of events, Mikey graduated from Penn State with a digital & print journalism degree in the spring of 2020. He covered Penn State football and served as an editor for Onward State from 2018 until his graduation. Mikey is from Bedminster, New Jersey, so naturally, he spends lots of time yelling about all the best things his home state has to offer. Mikey also loves to play golf, but he sucks at it because golf is really hard. If you, for some reason, feel compelled to see what Mikey has to say on the internet, follow him on Twitter @Mikey_Mandarino. You can also get in touch with Mikey via his big-boy email address: [email protected]

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