The 2024 NFL Combine was an important test for this year’s running back draft class. The group lacks a consensus No. 1 prospect, so the event served as a proving ground for the deep but top-light class.
Isaac Guerendo took advantage of that opportunity. The Louisville product blazed the fastest 40-yard dash time of the group, and his speed should help separate him from the crowded pack of potential mid-round prospects.
Guerendo’s speed isn’t the only trait that will impress NFL talent evaluators. He has good size at 6ft 0in, 221lbs, and he posted excellent marks in the jumping drills at the event.
Guerendo posted the second-highest Relative Athletic Score (RAS) ever by a running back with his mark of 9.99 out of possible 10, according to RAS inventor Kent Lee Platte. Only Justin Fargas ranks ahead of him.
Isaac Guerendo is a RB prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.99 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 1745 RB from 1987 to 2024.
Splits projectedhttps://t.co/K4OFfjGj1g pic.twitter.com/RuRtevhCsz
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 2, 2024
Here’s what to know about Guerendo’s 40 time and his career at Louisville.
LIVE NFL COMBINE: 40 times tracker | Full list of measurements
Isaac Guerendo 40 time
Guerendo ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at the 2024 NFL Combine. That tied with Quinyon Mitchell for the second-fastest 40 time of the combine to that point.
4.33u for @LouisvilleFB RB Isaac Guerendo after putting up a 41.5″ vertical 👀
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/fIwfAknE8j— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2024
Guerendo’s 40-time was 0.05 seconds faster than the second-fastest running back, Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright. Trey Benson was the only other running back to clock a sub-4.4 40 (4.39 seconds).
And Guerendo’s max speed during the 40-yard dash was clocked at 24.08 mph, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. He was the only player to reach that speed this year while De’Von Achane and Keaton Mitchell were the only prospects to run that fast in the drill in last year’s combine.
Isaac Guerendo (@LouisvilleFB) joins De’Von Achane and Keaton Mitchell as the only RBs to reach 24 mph on the 40-yard dash over the last two years.
Guerendo reached a top speed of 24.08 mph en route to a position-best unofficial 4.33s 40 time. pic.twitter.com/Id4ZVWIMIZ
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 2, 2024
That Guerendo posted a strong 40 time wasn’t surprising. He was a track star in high school and ran the 100-meter dash in 10.51 seconds to win a state title, per Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
Still, his combine workout will go a long way toward helping his draft stock rise as the draft draws nearer.
MORE: SN’s latest NFL mock draft | Top 125 big board
Isaac Guerendo stats
Guerendo played just one season at Louisville after spending his first four seasons at Wisconsin. He posted 1,044 total yards and 11 touchdowns in his lone season with the Cardinals, more than doubling his yardage total from his entire Wisconsin career.
Below is a look at Guerendo’s year-by-year stats from his five-year college career.
| Years | Games | Carries | Rushing yards | Rush TDs | Receiving yards | Receiving TDs |
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 11 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 23 | 160 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 12 | 64 | 385 | 5 | 115 | 1 |
| 2023 | 14 | 132 | 810 | 11 | 234 | 0 |
Guerendo was a late bloomer but was behind high-quality running backs at Wisconsin, including Jonathan Taylor and fellow 2024 draft prospect Braelon Allen. That explains why he struggled to earn carries during his Wisconsin career.
That could ultimately benefit Guerendo, as he will enter the NFL with relatively little tread on the tires (just 273 career touches).
