It seemed like a bit of a curious decision back in January when Miles Boykin decided to leave for the NFL with a year of eligibility remaining because he was not projected to be a high pick at the time according to draft analysts. After posting two sub 4.5 40 yard dashes and other eye popping numbers, Boykin is showing that maybe he knew what he was doing after all.

On his first attempt at the 40 yard dash, Boykin, a wide receiver not known for his speed, posted an impressive 4.47. That alone was eye popping enough for a receiver who weighed in at 220 lbs. He wasn’t done though. Boykin followed up that with an even better 4.42

Talk about an encore.

Boykin didn’t just run fast at the Combine today though. He also put up an absolutely ridiculous 43.5 inch vertical nearly out-jumping the pole in the process.

Miles Boykin jumping out the roof! 😤pic.twitter.com/Hkph2NcpII — PFF (@PFF) March 2, 2019

That is the 2nd highest vertical jump ever recorded at the NFL Combine according to Rich Eisen. (Edit: second highest ever for a wide receiver).

Boykin also posted an 11’8″ broad jump just for good measure.

Boykin’s reputation at Notre Dame was that of a massive, chain moving wide receiver – not a speed guy. He made some plays downfield the last two years. His circus catch and run against LSU in the Citrus Bowl being the most notable. But he was more of a possession receiver for the Irish.

After clocking two sub 4.5 40’s at 220 lbs though, you have to think that Boykin just made himself a lot of money Saturday afternoon. Wide receivers that big who can move like that don’t grow on trees.

While a lot of this comes as a surprise to many – including some Notre Dame fans – it might not be all that much of a surprise to NFL scouts. According to a Sun Times article from Friday, Boykin was quoted as saying his NFL Advisory Board evaluation came back with a 2nd round grade.

You also have to ask yourself where that speed was and why the Irish coaching staff couldn’t better utilize it during the 2018 season or before. Boykin had a long touchdown against Pitt, but other than that, he was not much of a downfield threat this past year. He did get open a few times against Clemson but Ian Book was unable to get him the ball on those occasions.

Whatever the case, Miles Boykin just showed the world why he decided to leave for the NFL when he did and made himself a substantial amount of money in the process. Boykin’s numbers in 2018 were more than solid – 50 catches, 872 yards, 8 TDs – and now he has some freakish measureables from the Combine to go along with those.

As for why Notre Dame wasn’t able to display the freakish abilities Boykin displayed on Saturday more this past fall, that’s a question we’ll be talking about for a while as Notre Dame reshapes its wide receiving corps. They are already started by moving Chase Claypool over to Boykin’s departed boundary position, but there’s a lot more work to be done.