INDIANAPOLIS — The competition just went up a notch here at the NFL Scouting Combine, as two of the top safeties just posted a couple of eye-popping numbers.

USC safety Taylor Mays was clocked with an unofficial 4.24-second 40-yard dash. If that number holds, it would tie Chris Johnson for the fastest 40 time in the combine since 2000, when official results were first recorded.

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks heard one scout put Mays at 4.33, but even with that time Mays would become the second-fastest participant at this year’s combine. Clemson RB Jacoby Ford ran an official 4.28 40 on Sunday.

Just seconds after Mays posted his amazing 40 time, Tennessee’s Eric Berry had his own sensational moment.

The man considered to be Mike Mayock‘s second-rated safety had an unofficial 43-inch vertical jump, which would place him among the best defensive backs of all time in that event, and third only to fellow safety A.J. Jefferson from Fresno State, who unofficially jumped 44 inches a few minutes ago, and Pittsburgh TE Dorin Dickerson, who recorded an official 43 1/2-inch jump in this year’s combine.

Mays, who unlike many other prospects loudly grunts his way through the entire run, was clocked at an unofficial 4.34 seconds in his second 40-yard dash.

Not to be undone, Mayock’s top-rated safety, Texas’ Earl Thomas, ran an unofficial 4.4-second 40-yard dash in his second run.

Check out all of the combine’s top performers in our combine tracker.

– Jason Feller

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