Ranking the 10 Fastest NFL Players in 2024: Who’s Chasing Tyreek Hill, Xavier Worthy, and De’Von Achane?

Speed kills, and the NFL has no shortage of fast players. But who's the fastest? PFN ranks the top 10 -- and four Miami Dolphins make the cut.

Although NFL football is still centered around power and violence, league rule changes have allowed players with speed and agility to thrive. Smaller athletes who might have been demolished in previous eras can deploy their quicks and explosiveness in the modern NFL.

Who are the fastest players in the league? We’ve ranked the quickest players in the NFL heading into 2024 based on top game speeds, athletic testing speeds, and game film.

Who Is the Fastest NFL Player?

1) Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

No team seems to covet pure speed as much as the Miami Dolphins, which is why their 2022 trade for wide receiver Tyreek Hill made so much sense. While he “only” ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash before entering the NFL, Hill plays faster on the field.

During his 2016 rookie season, Hill posted the fastest speed in the NFL’s Next Gen Stats database, hitting 23.24 miles per hour on a kick return. In 2023, he recorded the third-, seventh-, and ninth-fastest times of any player in the league and eclipsed 21.5 mph on four occasions.

Combine Hill’s speed and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s scheme, and you get one of the NFL’s top wideouts.

Hill led the league in receiving yards (1,799) and finished second in receptions (119) last season while running just the 46th-most routes among wide receivers. His efficiency was astounding, as his 3.85 yards per route run mark blew the modern record out of the water.

Fastest NFL Players | 2-10

2) Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Hill claims the top spot thanks to his long track record of game speed. However, Xavier Worthy might move to the top of the list if he thrives during his rookie season with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

While everyone knew Worthy offered blazing speed, the Texas prospect blew away the field at the 2024 NFL Combine, setting a new NFL record with a 4.21-second 40-yard dash. Worthy topped the previous mark (4.22) set by John Ross in 2017.

Of course, Ross failed to live up to expectations after entering the league, but that hardly means Worthy will bust too. With Andy Reid designing plays that can take advantage of his speed and Mahomes throwing the ball, Worthy could contend for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

3) De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins

McDaniel and Dolphins general manager Chris Grier put all their chips on speed, and it’s worked incredibly well. Miami’s offense is beyond potent, and De’Von Achane’s efficiency is otherworldly.

Despite battling injuries in his 2023 rookie campaign, Achane lapped the rest of the league with 7.8 yards per attempt. No other player with at least 100 rushing attempts finished with more than 5.5 yards per carry.

The Texas A&M product also posted two of the top six speeds for a ball carrier in 2023. He ran an official 4.32 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and achieved a 10.14-second 100-meter dash and a 20.2 200-meter dash in college.

4) Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins

In 2020, Raheem Mostert held the top two spots in Next Gen Stats’ speed clocking, running 23.09 miles per hour in Week 2 after hitting 22.73 mph the week before. Both plays resulted in touchdowns of 75+ yards.

Mostert bounced around teams for his first two seasons before finding a home with Kyle Shanahan’s wide-zone rushing attack. Although he couldn’t stay healthy for the San Francisco 49ers, he never once averaged fewer than five yards per carry.

Age is the only thing keeping Mostert from placing a spot higher on the list. At 31, he’s likely lost some horsepower since 2020.

Still, he managed a top speed of 21.62 mph on a 43-yard rushing touchdown in Week 2 of 2023. Mostert earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2023 as well after rushing for 1,012 yards and tying for the league lead with 21 total touchdowns.

5) DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

DK Metcalf is close to being the most unfair entity in professional football.

It’s absurd that he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at 230 pounds. It’s incomprehensible that he managed a 1.45-second 10-yard split, tied for the seventh-best mark in NFL Combine history.

In 2021, he famously chased down Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker at 22.64 mph to prevent a pick-six after an interception. Last year, he hit 22.23 mph on a 73-yard touchdown catch, the fastest speed in the league in 2023.

6) KaVontae Turpin, WR, Dallas Cowboys

KaVontae Turpin’s smoldering speed helped him win the USFL’s MVP award for the 2022 campaign and make his way to the NFL as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. While he’s primarily served as a returner for Dallas, Turpin has also seen action on offense.

Facing the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14 of last season, Turpin received a handoff from Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and took it for a 22-yard gain, posting the league’s fifth-highest speed (21.91 mph) of the year in the process.

Listed at only 153 pounds, Turpin is built like a paper clip. But while that weight may present contact-balance issues or limit Turpin’s genuine receiving opportunities, he’s incredibly adept at avoiding significant hits on returns.

7) Riq Woolen, CB, Seattle Seahawks

Length is a weapon for defensive backs, but too muchlength can make it nearly anatomically impossible to be an effective coverage defender at the NFL level.

However, Riq Woolen is an outlier. Athletically, he shouldn’t really exist. His 4.26 40-yard yard dash is tied for the fifth-fastest time ever at the NFL Combine, while his 40-yard interception got him into the top 10 fastest speeds of the 2022 NFL season.

8) DJ Turner II, CB, Cincinnati Bengals

DJ Turner II ran the Combine’s fastest 40-yard dash in 2023, putting up a 4.26-second run that is now tied for fifth-fastest in league history. His speed and explosion helped the University of Michigan product climb into the second round of last year’s draft, where the Cincinnati Bengals selected him.

Turner will have to fend off fellow ex-Michigan DB Dax Hill for starting corner duties opposite Cam Taylor-Britt, and his speed and recovery ability will be a part of his CB2 argument.

9) Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

The fourth and final Dolphin on our list, Jaylen Waddle is the next-best version of Hill. While teams have consistently tried and failed to find the “next Tyreek Hill,” Waddle is at least similar in the way he moves.

Many players are incredibly agile and fast with the ball in their hands, but they’re point guards. Waddle is like Steph Curry: It’s hard to stick to him whether he has the ball or is running routes because his fluidity and explosiveness are not one-dimensional.

10) Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase Brown only touched the ball 58 times during his 2023 rookie season, but he made the most of his limited opportunities.

Facing the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14, Brown took a screen pass from Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning and scampered for a 54-yard touchdown. He reached 22.05 miles per hour on the play, the second-fastest speed in the NFL last year.

Brown will have to compete for carries and catches with Cincinnati free agent addition Zack Moss in 2024, but he has the physical talent to succeed.

Honorable mention: Jets RB Breece Hall, Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III, Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase, Commanders WR Terry McLaurin, Packers WR Christian Watson, Eagles WR Parris Campbell, Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton