Article: The need for speed: the NFL loves a fast man, but are college prospects graded too heavily on their 40-yard dash times? Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin certainly was.(2005 NFL Draft)

DURING THE MONTHS OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH each year, the NFL goes on tour. League talent evaluators travel from location to location like a flock of Grateful Dead followers, anxious to thoroughly examine every college prospect on display.

Some travel by bus, some by plane. Some pack heavy and some pack light. But one item everyone in the traveling circus is sure to have is a stopwatch. Some even bring two.

That's because the NFL is obsessed with speed--and for good reason. The difference between a 4.4 and a 4.5 in the 40-yard clash could be the difference in whether a wide receiver clears the corner on an end-around or whether a running back ...

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