Rams draft road leads to Rome? And other Day 3 combine recaps

Fastest player in NFL history?

Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy made our Group III cheat sheet, and he was a player whose projected selection was late Round 2 to early Round 3. While that may have been too rich for the Rams liking, his 4.21-second time in the 40-yard dash has made him the talk of the town in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He was an option for the Rams before blazing his name into the NFL Scouting Combine record books as the fastest player in combine history:

Now, I'm not so sure.

Speed, without the ability to catch the football and avoid tacklers is simply . . . well, speed. There is such a thing as being too fast. If you look at the list above, there are few if any great NFL players among the group. And for good reason. Fast players can outrun defenders in pursuit, yes. But they can also outrun their own blockers. And ultra fast receivers are not the easiest targets to hit in full stride when running routes, because they are so fast.

Worthy stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 165 pounds, which is certainly tall enough but a bit on the light side for a three-down NFL player. His best season at Texas was his freshman year when he pulled down 62 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2023, he caught 75 passes for 1,014 yards, but only five TDs.

Adding to his intrigue, Worthy is a bona fide kick and punt returner as well.in 2023, his 22 punt returns averaged an impressive 16.7 yards. He even managed to score on one return. That would be great to fold into the special teams.

Unfortunately, his draft stock will skyrocket now. And the Rams are better off targeting a versatile punt return/kick return/wide receiver on Day 3. I love Worthy's potential, but he just priced himself off the Rams draft board.