Tom Brady has one of the slowest 40-yard dash times on either of the two Super Bowl teams, but he is competing in his eighth Super Bowl game and vying for his sixth Super Bowl ring this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles in Minneapolis.
So it begs the question: Does speed really matter when it comes to success on the gridiron?
MileSplit took a look at which of the two Super Bowl teams -- the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles -- has the advantage when it comes to speed, an attribute us track fans know all about. We also looked to see how many of the starters on either team ran track in high school (profiles are linked).
Below you can find the 40-yard dash times of each starter on offense and defense for both teams to see who has the speed advantage at each position.
The outcome ends up being 13-11 in favor of the Eagles. The odds in the speed department didn't stop the Pats at last year's Super Bowl. In the 2017 Super Bowl -- against the Falcons -- the Pats only won seven of the 25 matchups with one of them being a tie, and they ended up having one of the greatest comebacks in modern history to win 34-28.
Take a look below at all the positions to see who has the fastest feet.
Quarterbacks
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
Nick Foles 5.14 | EAGLES | Tom Brady 5.28 |
Running Backs
Philadelphia Eagles | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
RB#1: LeGarrette Blount 4.59 | PATRIOTS | RB#1: Dion Lewis 4.57 |
RB#2: Jay Ajayi (Interview) 4.57 | EAGLES | RB#2: Rex Burkhead 4.73 |
RB#3: Wendell Smallwood 4.47 | EAGLES | RB#3: James White 4.57 |
Wide Receivers
Philadelphia Eagles | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
WR#1: Alshon Jeffery 4.48 | PATRIOTS | WR#1: Brandin Cooks 4.33 |
WR#2: Marcus Johnson 4.37 | EAGLES | WR#2: Danny Amendola 4.58 |
WR#3: Torrey Smith 4.36 | EAGLES | WR#3: Chris Hogan 4.50 |
WR#4: Nelson Agholor 4.42 | PATRIOTS | WR#4: Phillip Dorsett 4.29 |
Tight Ends
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
Zach Ertz | PATRIOTS | Rob Gronkowski 4.68 |
Offensive Line
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
LT: Halapoulivaati Vaitai 5.26 | PATRIOTS | LT: Nate Solder 5.05 |
LG: Stefen Wisniewski 5.29 | PATRIOTS | LG: Joe Thuney 4.95 |
C: Jason Kelce 4.89 | EAGLES | C: David Andrews 5.12 |
RG: Brandon Brooks 4.98 | EAGLES | RG: Shaq Mason 4.99 |
RT: Lane Johnson 4.72 | PATRIOTS | RT: Marcus Cannon 5.26 |
Defensive Line
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
DE#1: Brandon Graham 4.72 | EAGLES | DE#1: Trey Flowers 4.93 |
DE#2: Vinny Curry 4.98 | PATRIOTS | DE#2: Eric Lee 4.69 |
DT#1: Fletcher Cox 4.79 | EAGLES | DT#1: Lawrence Guy 4.80 |
DT#2: Tim Jernigan 5.06 | PATRIOTS | DT#2: Malcolm Brown |
Linebackers
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
OLB: Mychal Kendricks 4.47 | EAGLES | LB: Kyle Van Noy 4.71 |
MLB: Dannell Ellerbe 4.60 | EVEN | LB: Elandon Roberts 4.60 |
OLB: Nigel Bradham 4.64 | PATRIOTS | LB: Marquis Flowers 4.51 |
Secondary
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | ADVANTAGE | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS |
---|---|---|
CB#1: Ronald Darby 4.38 | EAGLES | CB#1: Stephon Gilmore 4.40 |
CB#2: Jalen Mills 4.61 | EAGLES | CB#2: Malcolm Butler 4.62 |
S#1: Malcolm Jenkins 4.53 | PATRIOTS | S#1: Devin McCourty 4.41 |
S#2: Rodney McLeod 4.60 | EAGLES | S#2: Patrick Chung 4.49 |