Tavon Austin’s timing couldn’t be better — on or off the field.
Not only did he turn heads last month by nearly setting a scouting combine record with a blistering 4.34 40-yard dash, but the diminutive West Virginia receiver is entering the NFL at a truly opportune moment.
With Victor Cruz, Wes Welker and Percy Harvin leading the way, it has become the Age of the Slot Receiver. The 5-foot-8, 174-pound Austin soon could be mentioned alongside those inside playmakers.
When you throw in the fact he also is a Harvin-like threat running the ball as well as an explosive kick returner, Austin doesn’t figure to wait long to hear his name called at the April 25-27 NFL Draft.
Nor does he expect to.
“I think I am the all-around best player in the draft,” Austin said not-too-modestly at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
The numbers back him up, considering Austin was the well-deserved winner of the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football last season. He was one of just two players in the country with more than 500 yards in three statistical categories (receiving, rushing and kick returns) and one of three with at least 110 receptions.
Austin isn’t the most coveted receiver in the draft — that tag goes to big, fast outside target Cordarrelle Patterson of Tennessee — but he probably is going to go a lot higher than he would have before Cruz, Welker, Harvin & Co. started tormenting opposing defensive coordinators.
The, ahem, biggest question about Austin is his durability. Receivers in general take a lot of punishment in the NFL, but it is even more of an adventure for inside targets with linebackers and safeties having better angles to deliver big, bone-crushing hits.
Scouts say Austin is even more of an injury concern because he has an extremely thin lower body and legs, meaning he might not be able to be an every-down player. But relay that skepticism to Austin and watch him point to an almost pristine, four-year college career in which he never missed a game.
“It definitely shouldn’t be a problem,” Austin said of holding up in the NFL. “I haven’t gotten hurt or missed a game in eight years. My durability’s pretty good.”
Austin wasn’t exactly a gamebreaker at receiver at West Virginia, averaging 11.9 yards per catch, but he certainly was prolific, with 288 receptions for 3,413 yards and 29 touchdowns in 52 games.
With Geno Smith throwing him the ball, Austin had 100-plus receptions in each of his final two seasons with the Mountaineers — numbers sure to impress scouts as much as his blazing 40 time at the combine.
“I think the kid has star potential,” an NFC general manager told The Post at the combine. “I definitely see some Harvin in him with the speed and with all the different places you can line him up.”
If you’re talking speed, though, Austin isn’t by himself when it comes to receivers. This year’s class is filled with sprinters, as witnessed by an eye-popping 10 (out of 40 prospects total) running 4.45 or better at the combine, led by Texas wideout Marquise Goodwin’s 4.27.
You won’t find that kind of speed at tight end, of course, but there is certainly no shortage of big, athletic pass-catchers. Leading the way is Notre Dame underclassman Tyler Eifert, who has been considered the top prospect at his position all along and is in no danger of losing it.
Indeed, if you’re an NFL team looking for a reliable target at tight end, this is the year to find one. Stanford is the place to go, too, as the Cardinal have two huge prospects in 6-foot-6 Zach Ertz and 6-foot-8 Levine Toilolo available.
bhubbuch@nypost.com