The short answer
The average 40-yard dash for a 16-year-old is about 5.1 seconds for boys and 5.8 for girls, hand-timed. A good junior-year time is under 4.85 for boys and 5.5 for girls. Fast 16-year-olds run 4.5 to 4.65 and 5.0 to 5.2, and the elite for the age run 4.4 to 4.5 and 4.8 to 4.9 on a hand watch.
Key takeaways
- Typical 16-year-olds: 4.9 to 5.4 for boys, 5.6 to 6.1 for girls, hand-timed
- Junior year is when recruiting sites list verified laser times, and hand times stop counting
- Under 4.5 hand-timed at 16 is roughly a 4.7 laser, a Division I skill-position number
- Both curves are slowing: girls drop about a tenth a year now, boys about a tenth from 16 to 17 and then stall
- The NFL combine record is 4.21 laser-timed; the best 16-year-olds are half a second behind it
What is the average 40-yard dash for a 16-year-old?
By 16 the 40 is a recruiting number and the stopwatch has stopped being good enough. College coaches want a verified laser time from a camp or combine, and they know exactly how much a hand time flatters. Among 16-year-olds who get timed, the typical boy runs about 5.1 seconds and the typical girl about 5.8, hand-timed from first movement.
The junior-year field is also the widest. A 16-year-old lineman who has never sprinted from a stance and a 16-year-old state 100m finalist are both in this chart, a full second apart. The tiers exist so you can find the row that describes the athlete rather than the average of everyone.
40-yard dash benchmarks at age 16 (hand-timed)
| Tier at age 16 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| First timed 40, no sprint training | 5.5 - 6.0 | 6.2 - 6.7 |
| Typical (junior on a team) | 4.9 - 5.4 | 5.6 - 6.1 |
| Good (top quarter, varsity skill starter) | 4.7 - 4.85 | 5.3 - 5.5 |
| Fast (top 5 percent, recruitable skill player) | 4.5 - 4.65 | 5.0 - 5.2 |
| Elite for the age | 4.4 - 4.5 | 4.8 - 4.9 |
Hand time versus laser time
Every number on this page is hand-timed from the athlete's first movement, the way a coach with a stopwatch at practice does it. Laser or electronic timing, the NFL combine standard, starts the clock earlier and reads about 0.2 to 0.3 seconds slower for the same run. A hand-timed 4.8 is roughly a laser 5.0.
Source: NFL Scouting Combine timing procedure; coaching practice
Ages 15, 16 and 17 side by side
The boys' typical time falls about a tenth from 16 to 17 and then stops; what continues to improve is the top of the field, where strength training compounds. The girls' typical time is still easing down a tenth a year, and the girls who beat that rate are the ones doing dedicated speed and strength work.
The 40-yard dash at 15, 16 and 17
| Level | Age 15 (B / G) | Age 16 (B / G) | Age 17 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 5.3 / 5.9 | 5.1 / 5.8 | 5.05 / 5.7 |
| Good for the age | 4.92 / 5.5 | 4.78 / 5.4 | 4.72 / 5.35 |
| Elite for the age | 4.55 / 4.95 | 4.45 / 4.85 | 4.4 / 4.8 |
How far is 16 from the pros?
Xavier Worthy's 4.21 at the 2024 NFL combine is the fastest official laser-timed 40 on record. The elite 16-year-olds in this chart, 4.4 to 4.5 on a hand watch, are about 4.65 to 4.75 on a laser: roughly half a second off the best professional time, and about where NFL linebackers and tight ends average at the combine. Receivers average 4.52.
Source: NFL Scouting Combine results, 2024
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 16-year-old boy?
Under 4.85 is good and is a varsity skill-starter time at most schools. Under 4.65 is fast and, verified on a laser at about 4.85 to 4.9, is the kind of number that gets a junior on a college board. The elite tier, 4.4 to 4.5 hand-timed, converts to roughly 4.65 to 4.75 laser and is a Division I skill-position time. A junior in the typical band, 4.9 to 5.4, is usually a lineman or a linebacker, and at those positions a 5.0 is a perfectly good number.
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 16-year-old girl?
Under 5.5 is good for a 16-year-old girl and under 5.2 is fast. The elite girls run 4.8 to 4.9 hand-timed and are state-level 100m sprinters. Because the girls' typical time has stopped falling with age, the difference between 5.8 and 5.3 at 16 is almost entirely training: a proper start, sprint mechanics and a year in the weight room.
How these numbers were built
- Population. Athletes who were timed in a 40 at a practice, combine or testing day, drawn from published youth combine results, high school testing data and coaching records. A child who has never sprinted from a stance is usually slower than the first-time row.
- Typical band. The middle 50 percent of that population for the age, rounded to a tenth.
- Good, fast, elite. Roughly the top 25 percent, top 5 percent and top 0.5 percent of the age.
- Timing. Hand-timed from first movement. Subtract nothing; if your time came from a laser, take about 0.25 off before you compare it here.
- Cross-check. The bands were checked against the same athletes' 100m times using the standard 40-to-100m relationship, so a 5.0 boy and a 12.8 100m boy land in the same tier.
The junior-year checklist
- Get it verified. Run at a camp or combine with laser gates. A hand time on a recruiting profile is worth nothing to a college coach.
- Own the first ten yards. The elite juniors cover the first ten in about 1.5 seconds hand-timed; the typical junior takes 1.7 or more. That gap is almost half the difference between 4.5 and 5.0, and it is the half you can fix fastest.
- Strength before speed drills. At 16, a year of squats, trap-bar deadlifts and sled work moves the 40 more than any amount of technique work on a weak engine.
- Film the stance and the first five steps. Hips too low, first step too long, chest up too early: all three are visible on one clip and all three cost a tenth.