INDIANAPOLIS -- It isn't often a player drops a blistering 40-yard dash time at the NFL scouting combine and it still isn't as fast as he expected.
But that was the case Saturday for Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond.
Bond ran an officially timed 4.39 seconds in the 40 (his two runs were unofficially timed and initially shown to the crowd inside Lucas Oil Stadium as 4.40 and 4.41). A quality run, for sure, but just shy of what Bond predicted Friday, when he told reporters here that he would break Xavier Worthy's combine record of 4.21, set last year.
Worthy, also a former Texas wide receiver, was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 28th pick of the 2024 NFL draft last April.
"I'm going to break the record tomorrow, for sure,'' Bond had said Friday. "I anticipate running 4.20 or possibly, if I'm feeling great, I might run a 4.1.''
Asked later Friday what separated him from some of the other receivers in this draft class, Bond added: "What separates me from the rest of the draft class is the sheer speed. There's not a receiver that has the speed and capabilities that I have. It's not just speed; I'm a complete wide receiver. I have amazing routes. If you watch the tape, you'll see that.''
Bond, who had said his best 40 time in his training leading up to the combine was a 4.23, is the No. 10 wide receiver in Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest Big Board for ESPN.
His teammate at Texas, Matthew Golden, ran an official 4.29 seconds in the 40, the fastest time among wide receivers who were tested Saturday. Tennessee's Dont'e Thornton Jr. ran the second-fastest 40 with a 4.30, while Florida's Chimere Dike's and Virginia Tech's Jaylin Lane's tied for the third-fastest at 4.34.
Bond's time was tied for ninth-fastest with Iowa State's Jaylin Noel. Seven of the 10 receiver times were run by players out of the SEC.
Against UTSA this past season, Bond was clocked at faster than 22 mph. He finished the 2024 season with 34 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns.
