Chris Johnson: I could probably beat Usain Bolt in the 40-yard dash

Chris Johnson is fast. In fact, he may be the fastest player in the NFL when healthy. Johnson ran a blazing 4.24 40-yard dash at the NFL combine back in 2008. Nobody knows how Usain Bolt would do in the 40, but we do know he is recognized as the fastest man in the world. That hasn’t stopped Johnson from believing he can beat Bolt in a race.

“I feel like if I would have kept training for track I’d have a chance, but I play football and he runs track, so it’s totally different,” Johnson said according to The Tennessean. “I think I could still probably beat him in the 40. If I actually trained for the distance he trained for, I think I’d have a chance.

“Training for football, we do a lot of short sprints — we do 40s and 50s and things like that. We don’t really train like track athletes. If a track athlete tried to come play football it would be totally different (for Bolt).”

Indeed, it would be. But running the 40-yard dash isn’t exactly catching a pass over the middle of the field and taking a shot from a 240-pound linebacker. Johnson is so fast that his speed once got legendary announcer Gus Johnson in trouble, but I would still put my money on Bolt. It’s nice for Titans fans and fantasy owners that CJ2K has renewed confidence heading into the 2012 season, but the odds favor the Olympic gold medalist in anything that simply involves running.

Thanks to Pro Football Talk for the story
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