Breaking down the NFL’s fastest players, including Tyreek Hill handing over the unofficial title to a rookie

The NFL has a new fastest player. Xavier Worthy, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ first-round pick, has garnered the top spot on a list of the NFL’s 25 fastest players entering the 2024 season. Worthy is ranked just ahead of Dolphins speedster and former Kansas City wideout Tyreek Hill, who has four years held the unofficial title as the league’s fastest player. 

The list was created by The33rdTeam, who came up with the ranking by using a combination of timed speed via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and 40-yard dash times. Worthy’s top spot on the list was largely due to him running 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, a record time for the event. 

Along with Worthy and Hill, the top-five fastest players in the NFL also include Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf, Dolphins running back De’Von Achane and Bengals running back Chase Brown.

Miami has a league-high four players included on the list of the NFL’s 25 fastest players. Running back Raheem Mostert checked in at No. 8, while wideout Jaylen Waddle was tabbed as the league’s 11th fastest player. 

Cincinnati and Seattle were tied for second with three players apiece on the top-25 list. Bengals cornerback DJ Turner (No. 7) and wideout Ja’Marr Chase (No. 21) joined Brown on the list. Metcalf was flanked by fellow Seahawks Tariq Woolen (No. 9) and Kenneth Walker (No. 14). 

One somewhat surprising name on the list is Derrick Henry, the Ravens running back who is known for his power and not his speed. Henry, the second of three running backs on the list (Walker and Jonathan Taylor being the other two) tallied a max speed of 21.68 mph last season. 

Back to Worthy: his speed was surely one of the reasons why the Chiefs decided to select him with the 28th overall pick. The Chiefs are hoping that Worthy and fellow wideout Marquise Brown can help open things up downfield for reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. 

“He’s a guy that I think can do a lot for us,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach recently said of Worthy, via ESPN. “There’s a premium in this league on speed and playmaking ability and he has that. So I think the vision for him is we have him for five years now and that’s a big deal for us as we try to keep this thing together and add pieces. Those playmakers are hard to come by and they’re expensive in the offseason.”