The Fastest NFL Players (Top Speed)

Tyreek Hill holds the fastest in-game speed of the NFL’s Next Gen Stats era at 23.24 mph, reached on a kick-return touchdown in 2016. Raheem Mostert owns the fastest speed ever tracked for a ball carrier on a play from scrimmage, 23.09 mph, set on an 80-yard touchdown run in 2020.

Speed is football’s most electric trait, and since 2016 the NFL has measured it precisely through Next Gen Stats tracking chips embedded in players’ shoulder pads. That system produces an unofficial but authoritative leaderboard of the fastest recorded runs. Here are the fastest NFL players by top speed, the plays that produced the marks, and why the numbers reset almost every season. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Tyreek Hill at 23.24 mph

Nicknamed “Cheetah,” Tyreek Hill has been the face of NFL speed for most of the tracking era. His 23.24 mph on a 2016 kick return remains the fastest single-game speed Next Gen Stats has ever recorded, even though the return was called back by a penalty. Hill has posted multiple 22-plus mph runs since, and for four straight years he was widely considered the fastest player in the league before a new generation of rookies began challenging him.

The full leaderboard of the fastest NFL players

The table below ranks the fastest tracked in-game speeds of the Next Gen Stats era. Figures are approximate and the list updates each season. Active players are marked.

Rank	Top speed	Player	Notable play
1	23.24 mph	Tyreek Hill*	2016 kick-return TD (called back)
2	23.09 mph	Raheem Mostert*	2020 80-yard TD run (fastest from scrimmage)
3	22.64 mph	DK Metcalf*	2020 chase-down of Budda Baker
4	~22.30 mph	Matt Breida	2019 touchdown run
5	~22.2 mph	Henry Ruggs III	2020 rookie deep touchdown
6	~22.1 mph	De’Von Achane*	2023-24 long touchdown
7	~22.0 mph	Marquez Valdes-Scantling*	deep receiving touchdown

*Active or recently active; speed is the highest recorded as of the 2025 season and figures beyond the top three are approximate.

The list is dominated by wide receivers and running backs breaking into the open field, where a player can reach full stride. Only a handful of names have ever cleared 22.5 mph in a game, which is what makes Hill’s and Mostert’s marks so exceptional.

Mostert, Metcalf and speed on defense

Raheem Mostert’s 23.09 mph is the benchmark for a ball carrier on a normal snap, but one of the most celebrated speed plays came from a receiver running the other way. In 2020, DK Metcalf hit 22.64 mph chasing down Arizona defensive back Budda Baker after an interception, catching him from behind at the goal line. It showed that elite speed matters on both sides of the ball, and that a big-bodied receiver can be just as fast as a slot burner.

The combine and the 40-yard dash

In-game tracking is only half the speed story. The other half is the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, where Xavier Worthy set the all-time record of 4.21 seconds in 2024, edging John Ross’s 4.22 from 2017. Those explosive short-distance times do not always translate to the highest in-game speeds, but they crown the fastest prospects entering the league. For the full breakdown, see our guide to the fastest 40-yard dash, and for how football speed compares to track, our list of the fastest man in the world.

Why the record matters

Straight-line speed changes how defenses play, forcing safeties to stay deep and opening the field for everyone else. That is why the fastest players are among the most valuable, and why the most receiving yards in a game and the sport’s biggest receiving totals of all time so often belong to the game’s quickest athletes. Hill and Mostert set the standard, but with Worthy and other burners rising, the leaderboard is one of the most fluid in football.

The short version: Tyreek Hill holds the fastest in-game speed of the Next Gen Stats era at 23.24 mph, with Raheem Mostert (23.09 mph) fastest from scrimmage and Xavier Worthy the record-holder in the 40-yard dash at 4.21 seconds, as of the 2025 season.