Heading into and throughout the 2025-26 season, Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson was often referred to as “the fastest man in college football.”
He may have proven those people right during the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Thompson ran an official time of 4.26 in the 40-yard dash, which is expected to be the fastest at this year’s combine.
4.26u for @HailStateFB WR Brenen Thompson 🫢
2026 NFL Combine on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sS9ftJ7OzR— NFL (@NFL) February 28, 2026
The blistering sprint places Thompson among the fastest receiver prospects this century, just five hundredths of a second behind now-Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy’s record of 4.21 set in 2024.
Per ESPN, Thompson is the third-fastest receiver to run at the combine since 2003. He tied Jerome Mathis’ 4.26 time posted in 2005. Only John Ross (4.22 in 2017) and Worthy have posted faster marks in that timeframe.
Thompson, the only Mississippi State player invited to this year’s combine, measured at 5-foot-9 and 164 pounds. In his lone season with the Bulldogs, after transferring from Oklahoma, he set a school record with 1,054 receiving yards. He also had six touchdowns.