Among the defensive linemen who ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey didn’t have the fastest time. But all those who ran faster than Kancey in the defensive-line group were edge rushers and defensive ends, led by the 4.39 of Georgia’s Nolan Smith.

Kancey had a 4.67-second showing in the 40. Among the players running on Thursday who will be defensive tackles in the NFL, that was the fastest time by 0.14 seconds. And since 2000, when combine records became fully available, it’s the best time for any player designated as a defensive tackle.

MORE NFL:

· BRONCOS HAVE DECISION TO MAKE ON JERRY JEUDY

· AUBURN EDGE DERICK HALL’S BEST NFL TRAIT

· ALABAMA DEFENSIVE BACK WOULD PICK HIMSELF FIRST

Kancey’s performance edged the 4.68 run by another Pittsburgh defensive tackle, Aaron Donald, for the fastest time at that position. Since his run at the 2014 combine, Donald has gone on to become a seven-time All-Pro first-team selection and a three-time winner of the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Smith’s time also was notable. Among players running with the defensive linemen, only Virginia Tech’s Amare Barno has had a faster time in this century than the Georgia pass rusher’s Thursday showing. Barno recorded a 4.36-second 40 at last year’s combine.

Tennessee’s Byron Young had the second-fastest time among the defensive linemen at 4.43 seconds, and Georgia’s Robert Beal Jr. made it an SEC sweep of the top three in the 40 at 4.48 seconds.

Smith, Young and Beal were designated as edge rushers and weighed in at 238, 250 and 247 pounds, respectively, at the combine. The fourth-fastest 40 time among the defensive linemen was turned in by 282-pound defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore of Northwestern at 4.49 seconds.

That’s the fastest 40-yard time for a player weighing at least 280 pounds this century, a mark that Kancey held for only a few minutes on Thursday.

Two players from Alabama high schools and colleges ran the 40 with the defensive linemen. Auburn defensive end Colby Wooden timed a 4.79 at 273 pounds, and Alabama defensive tackle DJ Dale (Clay-Chalkville) had a 5.26-second 40 at 302 pounds. Alabama defensive tackle Byron Young did not run.

The other SEC players who ran with the defensive linemen on Thursday were:

· Florida edge Brenton Cox: 4.82 seconds

· Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter: 4.88

· Missouri defensive end Isaiah McGuire: 4.76

· South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens: 4.89

· Ole Miss edge Tavius Robinson: 4.66

· Mississippi State defensive tackle Cameron Young: 5.10

In the other measurable drills on Thursday, the leaders among the defensive linemen included:

Vertical jump: Georgia’s Nolan Smith got the highest off the ground with a 41.5-inch jump. He finished 3.5 inches ahead of Tennessee’s Byron Young and 4 inches ahead of Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore.

Broad jump: Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV and Tennessee’s Byron Young covered 132 inches – or 11 feet – to top this station. Georgia’s Nolan Smith was 4 inches back in third.

There were 51 defensive linemen at the combine this year.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.