During his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 28, Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond put his foot in his mouth, guaranteeing he’d break the NFL Combine 40-yard dash record previously set by fellow Texas WR Xavier Worthy in 2024.
When that didn’t happen, fans, analysts, and even Worthy himself let Bond have it.
Texas WR Isaiah Bond Fails on Promise To Break NFL Combine 40-Yard Dash Record
“I’m going to break the record tomorrow. For sure,” a confident Bond told reporters. “I anticipate running 4.20 [seconds] or possibly, if I’m feeling great, I might run a 4.1.”
"I'm going to break the record tomorrow. For sure." — #Texas WR Isaiah Bond pic.twitter.com/WxdeTEvtGQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 28, 2025
The Texas wide receiver posted 40 times of 4.41 and 4.40. Not only did he fail to break Worthy’s record, he finished fourth among wide receivers this year.
“That’s why you’ve got to under-promise and over-deliver,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah remarked during the broadcast.
Texas WR Isaiah Bond runs a 4.41u in his first 40 attempt.
📺: #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/VS3e59NLnn— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2025
Bond’s college teammate, Matthew Golden, posted the fastest time among wide receivers with a 4.29.
In other words, Bond wasn’t even the fastest wide receiver from his team at this year’s NFL Combine.
Isaiah Bond clocking a 4.40 on his second run and then getting booed by the combine crowd is CRAZY
— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) March 1, 2025
Fans in attendance booed Bond for his slower-than-expected time.
“Isaiah Bond clocking a 4.40 on his second run and then getting booed by the combine crowd is CRAZY,” posted NFL writer Arif Hasan.
Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy, NFL World Rip Bond in Social Media Posts
Unfortunately for the incoming rookie, he didn’t come close to challenging Worthy, who set the NFL Combine record of 4.21 seconds last year before going to the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Respect those who come before you,” Worthy posted in his Instagram story, targeting both Bond and Texas running back Jaydon Blue, who ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash himself.
Xavier Worthy wrote "respect those who come before you" over video of both Jaydon Blue and Isaiah Bond running the 40 🤣 pic.twitter.com/HZA33oTysv
— Dan Why-Ner (@ReallyDanWeiner) March 1, 2025
Reacting to Bond’s blunder was a Chiefs fan who wrote, “Isaiah Bond is the definition of overrated.”
“Texas WR Isaiah Bond should be off all boards after that 40. You cannot say ‘I can run 4.1s’ and post 4.4s. Embarrassing (he also sucks),” another fan wrote.
“Bro couldn’t even touch the 4.3s and thought he was breaking records,” added another.
Someone else suggested, “Bro should’ve just kept quiet.”
Bro should’ve just kept quiet 🤐
— ⛩♊️SOLO✖️JONES👑⛩ (@VybzGemini) March 1, 2025
“You can’t say you are going to break the record and run anything over a 4.35,” another added.
One fan used a GIF of Jonah Hill from “Superbad” to illustrate.
Isaiah Bond: I’m going to break the record and run 4.1
Also Isaiah Bond: pic.twitter.com/4EETPMfQt1
— Rob Klein (@RobKlein4) March 1, 2025
Barstool Sports’ Liam Blutman posted to X, “Isaiah Bond has sold people on thinking he’s some exceptional talent when in reality he’s consistently underwhelming and never comes close to meeting the expectations he and others set for him.”
“Isaiah Bond clocking a 4.40 on his second run and then getting booed by the combine crowd is CRAZY,” wrote another fan.
Where Is Bond Projected To Go in the NFL Draft?
With eight weeks left until the 2025 NFL Draft, mock drafts are in full swing. Jacob Infante, an NFL Draft analyst for PFSN, has Bond going to the Arizona Cardinals in the second round (No. 47) in his latest seven-round NFL mock draft.
“His collegiate production was pedestrian, but Isaiah Bond’s tape was certainly not,” Infante wrote. “He’s an elite athlete with quick cuts out of his breaks as a route runner, and his potential as a deep threat is palpable.
“The tandem of Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. gives the Cardinals a strong duo for Kyler Murray to throw to, but they’re missing that one steady third piece to make their passing attack that much more dangerous.”
Here are some highlights from Bond’s scouting report by PFSN’s NFL Draft analyst Ian Cummings:
Physically, Bond has everything he needs to be a stellar three-level threat in the modern game. His blend of explosiveness, speed, and flexibility is extremely conducive to route-running success, and those same mobility traits make him a RAC weapon defenses must respect.
Already, Bond is a fairly smooth and nuanced separator, with an impressive route tree and good alignment versatility. And on the vertical plane, his speed — in tandem with his ball-tracking ability, body control, and steady hands — makes him a dangerous big-play threat.
Bond is a speed threat with separation chops, but he also plays with surprising physicality. In fact, one of his most exciting traits is the authority with which he approaches positioning and how he continually forces defenders to play big with his active hands leading up to catches.
Bond will never be an overwhelming force on pure contested targets, but he has a promising three-level-threat framework, with the ‘football player’ mentality and toughness to tie it all together. More simply put: He’s a big-play threat with the little-play utility to keep the chains moving.
At his peak, Bond can be an impact starter for an NFL offense, and he has the alignment versatility to play as a movement-Z receiver with slot, boundary, and motion capabilities.