Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims' Performance at NFL Combine Explains a Lot

His 40 time of 4.38 seconds was tied for the fourth-fastest among wide receivers. His vertical jump of 39.5 inches was tied for fifth and was only 1.5 inches out of first. His broad jump of 10 feet, 9 inches ranked 12th among the 42 wideouts who participated. His 3-cone drill time of 6.90 seconds ranked fourth. (Mims did not participate in the 20-yard shuttle or the bench press.)

Looking back on Mims’ three seasons at OU, in which he set a modern-day record by averaging 19.5 yards per catch, he always seemed open on deep balls because, at 4.38, he was faster than the defensive backs trying to cover him.

Mims was a record-setting receiver in high school and plied that to exciting downfield catches in college because, at 39.5 inches, he can jump higher than the DBs he was going against.

Maybe most telling, Mims’ 10-yard split in the 40 — 1.55 seconds — ranked tied for 29th among receivers. But his official 40 time — 4.38, again, fourth among the wideouts — shows an uncommon ability to raise his pace to elite levels. In other words, his top-end speed, or his closing speed, allowed him to get to footballs that others couldn’t.

“I think it’s natural and something you work at,” Mims explained earlier in the week.” I played a lot of basketball growing up, AAU and all that stuff. Never a big guy. Always had amazing jumping skills, so getting rebounds and all that stuff. And just the footballs in the air, the way I look at it, I’m coming down with it no matter what I have to do. You talk about the Tech catch, sticking a hand behind the guy’s back, trying to tip it to myself, just like crazy stuff, whatever I can do to get the ball in my hands.”