NFL Draft: OSU's Justin Blackmon impresses with speed at OSU Pro Day

“It’s kind of like a relief,” Blackmon said. “I’m just happy that this process is over and to see what’s in store.

“I felt pretty good when I ran it. You can’t really predict what times you’re running, but I felt good starting off and getting everything going.”

Blackmon has always been known for his ball skills, body control and physicality more than his vertical speed, and a hamstring injury kept him from running the 40 at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

So the scouts gathered on the field at BPS with their stopwatches Friday. And the result was a time faster than what most of the other top wide receiver prospects ran at the Combine, such as Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd (4.47), Baylor’s Kendall Wright (4.61) and LSU’s Rueben Randle (4.55). Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill was faster than Blackmon, posting a time of 4.36 seconds.

The time combined with his on-field success likely cements Blackmon as a top-10 pick in April’s draft. Blackmon was the most dominant receiver in college football over the past two seasons, catching 233 passes for 3,304 yards and 38 touchdowns and winning the Biletnikoff Award in both 2010 and 2011.

ESPN draft experts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both had Blackmon going No. 2 overall to the Rams in their most recent mock drafts, but reports surfaced late Friday that St. Louis had finalized a deal to trade that pick to the Redskins. Washington is expected to select former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.