Who is the fastest player in the NFL? Here’s where Tyreek Hill, Lamar Jackson, others rank in 2021

There’s just something exciting about watching a player with incredible speed fly down the field.

Whether it’s using that speed to break away down the sideline, cut through the middle of the defense and score or dice up a coverage unit on special teams, those big plays with breakaway speed always add another level of excitement to the game.

And there are several players in the league capable of carving up defenses with their speed. Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, nicknamed Cheetah, is often viewed as the fastest, but he certainly hasn’t run away with the title as other talents like 49ers running back Raheem Mostert, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III have shown they too can race past just about anybody.

Is there a way to find out who the actual fastest player in the league is? Sporting News is taking a look to see which players have posted the strongest cases.

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Who is the fastest player in the NFL? 

There are always several different ways one can come to a conclusion about the fastest player in the league, and each one will likely bring up a different result.

Certain guys just meet that eye test, where their speed just seems to be at a different level than other players. But our eyes aren’t perfect, and it’s incredibly subjective, so we won’t be using that method.

What about the fastest times posted in a game? There’s a lot going on in game action. Players have to run routes, avoid tacklers, carry a football or catch the ball. We can also take a look at 40-yard dash times, where players are asked to run in a straight line as fast as they can. But even then, some player might not have their best day. Another might have an adrenaline rush.

There’s no perfect way to decide who the fastest player in the league is, but we’re going to lay out the data available to see who might come the closest to meeting that description.

Top 10 fastest players in 2021

NFL Next-Gen Stats has been tracking the fastest players in contact with the ball since 2016. This, like any other method, remains an imperfect method as it does not include defenders — such as safeties and corners — running after a ball-carrier to make a tackle. Still, it gives us a great glimpse overall of the players that have recorded the fastest times when trying to avoid being tackled.

Here are the players that have posted the fastest times so far this season.

Top 10 fastest times in 2020

The 2021 season is still underway. So let’s take a look at who the fastest players from last year’s regular season were. One player seems to stand out above the rest.

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Who has the fastest time in a regular season game?

Maybe a little unsurprising to see that the fastest time ever recorded by NFL’s Next Gen Stats, which dates back to the start of the 2016 season, belongs to Hill. He returned a kickoff 27 yards and was clocked at 23.24 mph.

Hill and Mostert split the top four, as Hill checks in at first and third and Mostert is second and fourth. Mostert is the only other player to record a speed over 23 mph. Xavier Rhodes is the only defensive player to crack the top 10.

Fastest 40 times

Before each NFL draft, players are evaluated based on their ability just to sprint straight ahead 40 yards. 

Here are the fastest players tracked at the NFL Combine, according to Stathead, since 2000. Times from 2021 are from college Pro Days as the 2021 NFL Combine was canceled, and come courtesy of the NFL Draft Bible.

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What is Lamar Jackson’s 40 time?

Jackson did not run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, but at a Speed Day at Louisville, he was clocked in at running a 4.34-second 40-yard dash. According to Stathead, that time would have been the third-fastest time recorded by a quarterback since 2000, behind only Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick, who both clocked in at 4.33.

What is Tyreek Hill’s 40 time?

Hill was not at the 2016 NFL combine due to a domestic abuse arrest. Hill did run at West Alabama’s Pro Day and ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash. That would tie him for the 15th-fastest time, per Stathead, and would be the 11th-fastest among wide receivers.