Xavier Restrepo self-reports blazing new 40-yard dash time ahead of Titans Training Camp WR battle
The Titans WR roster battle will dominate a lot of our training camp discourse, and the most popular bubble contender just got a head start on the competition.
Tennessee Titans second-year wide receiver Xavier Restrepo is doing everything in his power to overcome his physical limitations and earn a spot on this roster. And I think that’s cool.
The undrafted free agent out of Miami, who reunited with college quarterback Cam Ward in Tennessee last year, spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad before injuries elevated him to the active roster late in the year. He recorded some catches in limited action and showed enough to stick around on an NFL roster. Now, with Titans training camp kicking off this week, Restrepo has put the internet on notice with a self-recorded 40-yard dash time that blows his previous marks out of the water.
Restrepo posted on social media Saturday afternoon that he clocked a 4.45-second 40-yard dash while training with his private coach. In the post, he shared video of two runs and a clip where he and his trainer explained what they had been working on since January.
“What’s going on, guys? I’ve been training with Coach Battle since January of this year, and man, he’s made a big, huge difference in my game, added a whole other element to my game that sometimes I thought was out of reach,” Restrepo said. “I want to give him his flowers because he’s awesome. Today, right before we go back to fall camp, training camp, and the preseason, we just ran two 40s.”
Battle then shared the results: “Well, the first 40, he ran a 4.50, and we know that’s not the mark that we were trying to get to going into camp. So here at Battle Zone Speed and Fitness, we are proud to announce that this young man under the lights just ran a blazing time of 4.45 in a 40-yard dash.”
What to make of Restrepo’s new 40 time
Self-reported 40 times, obviously, require a healthy level of scrutiny. We have no idea whether this was done via laser or hand stopwatch, or how many checks and balances were involved. Here’s what I will say: it was obvious to the naked eye during the earlier portion of the offseason, when I was able to see him practice alongside other neutral third-party observers on the Titans beat, that Restrepo has cut some weight. He seems to have gotten trimmer and faster, and I am pretty confident in verifying that he is faster than he was last year.
How much faster? I don’t know, and I’m not here to disparage this time. His GPS tracking in college indicated he was probably a mid-4.5s guy, not the 4.83-second runner his shockingly disappointing Miami Pro Day suggested. Maybe he has gotten it down to right around 4.5 flat or into the high 4.4s. That’s not unheard of!
For context, Restrepo weighed in at the combine last offseason at 209 pounds and measured 1/8 of an inch short of 5-foot-10. He is stockier and shorter than your typical NFL receiver, and that Pro Day 40 time was one of the biggest things held against him when he went undrafted. But here’s the thing about speed at the receiver position: blazing 40 times are largely overrated. Most every true wide receiver 1 in terms of production across the NFL right now runs in the high 4.4s to low 4.5s range. It’s more of a pass/fail than an exam you need to ace.
Why Restrepo’s offseason matters for the Titans roster battle
I like Xavier Restrepo personally. I find him fascinating. His demeanor, his personality, the way he is clearly adored by his coaches and teammates when I observe them at practice. His tenacity when it comes to not caring about what seems to be an unavoidable set of physical limitations is something you can’t help but respect. In college, he was more productive and more capable as a receiver than you would expect just looking at him on paper, and that has translated to the pros at least on the practice field. He has this kind of intangible quality in his bones that makes him a baller. How do you quantify that? You can’t really.
Restrepo has been a part of every single portion of the offseason program he has been allowed to attend. He was at mandatory minicamp, every bit of the voluntary OTAs, and even showed up voluntarily at rookie minicamp as a veteran player, one of the few in attendance practicing and leading. He has made himself one of the leaders in the wide receiver room, leading off drills and making more plays than you’d expect based on his measurables.
The bottom line is that Restrepo faces a crowded competition to make the back end of this Tennessee roster, and what it may ultimately come down to is his ability to contribute on special teams. More speed makes him a more capable athlete on that side of the ball. Job well done so far — now the real test begins in camp.