Raheem Mostert was the fastest NFL player in 2020 based on the fastest ball carrier metric by Next Gen Stats, reaching a season-leading 23.09 mph on an 80-yard touchdown run for the San Francisco 49ers. Mostert also recorded the second-fastest play at 22.73 mph, while Kenyan Drake ranked third at 22.11 mph.
This ranking measures the highest speed reached while a player possessed the football during a regular-season play. It is based on NFL Next Gen Stats tracking, not 40-yard dash times, and it includes rushing attempts, receptions, returns and interception returns. For broader historical context, compare these results with the fastest NFL players ever.
Table of Contents
Fastest NFL Players in 2020: Key Facts
- Fastest ball carrier: Raheem Mostert, 23.09 mph.
- Only player above 23 mph: Mostert was the lone player to clear the threshold.
- Most top-20 entries: Mostert and Jonathan Taylor recorded two each.
- Fastest wide receiver: Tyreek Hill, 21.91 mph.
- Top-10 cutoff: DK Metcalf ranked 10th at 21.66 mph.
- Official table scope: The complete Next Gen Stats table contains 20 plays by 18 players.
How the 2020 NFL Ball-Carrier Speed Ranking Works
This is an objective ranking of the highest ball-carrier speeds recorded by NFL Next Gen Stats during the 2020 regular season. Preseason and postseason plays are excluded. The individual analysis counts down the top 10, while the complete table near the bottom includes all 20 plays displayed on the official leaderboard.
Every play is ranked separately, so a player can appear more than once. Raheem Mostert and Jonathan Taylor each appear twice in the complete top 20. Next Gen Stats officially places Trevon Diggs seventh and Nelson Agholor eighth even though both display as 21.72 mph. It also uses separate sequential positions for the displayed ties at 21.52 and 21.44 mph, so this article follows the published order instead of creating shared ranks.
Top speed is useful, but it does not settle every football argument. Longer plays provide more room to accelerate, while running backs often have to clear traffic before reaching open field. This list captures the highest gear each player reached with the ball, not who had the quickest first step, the fastest 40-yard dash or the best overall season.
Fastest NFL Ball Carriers of the 2020 Season
10. DK Metcalf: 21.66 mph
Team: Seattle Seahawks; Play: Penalty-marked 6-yard reception against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
Metcalf reached 21.66 mph on a short reception during Seattle’s overtime loss in Arizona. The official leaderboard marks the play with an asterisk because of a penalty, but the tracking speed still places him inside the top 10.
9. Michael Davis: 21.68 mph
Team: Los Angeles Chargers; Play: 78-yard interception return touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
Davis jumped the route and returned the interception 78 yards for a touchdown at 21.68 mph. He was one of two cornerbacks inside the top 10 and produced the fastest defensive scoring play on the leaderboard.
8. Nelson Agholor: 21.72 mph
Team: Las Vegas Raiders; Play: 57-yard reception against the Denver Broncos in Week 17.
Agholor got behind Denver’s coverage for a 57-yard catch and reached 21.72 mph. Next Gen Stats ranks his play eighth, one position behind Diggs despite both entries displaying the same speed.
7. Trevon Diggs: 21.72 mph
Team: Dallas Cowboys; Play: Interception against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8.
Diggs reached 21.72 mph after intercepting Carson Wentz during his two-takeaway performance against Philadelphia. The official table credits the play with zero return yards, showing that maximum tracked speed and net return distance can tell very different stories.
6. Nyheim Hines: 21.85 mph
Team: Indianapolis Colts; Play: Penalty-marked 19-yard kickoff return against the Houston Texans in Week 13.
Hines accelerated to 21.85 mph on the kickoff return, the highest speed by a returner in the 2020 top 10. The play carries a penalty asterisk on the official leaderboard, but its tracking data remains part of the published rankings.
5. Tyreek Hill: 21.91 mph
Team: Kansas City Chiefs; Play: 44-yard touchdown reception against the Miami Dolphins in Week 14.
Hill caught the pass in space and raced through Miami’s secondary for a 44-yard touchdown. His 21.91 mph top speed was the fastest by a wide receiver in 2020, although four running back plays finished above him.
4. Jonathan Taylor: 22.05 mph
Team: Indianapolis Colts; Play: 29-yard rush against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17.
Taylor reached 22.05 mph during his 253-yard performance in the regular-season finale. The rookie needed only 29 yards to crack the season’s top four, offering an early look at the breakaway speed that would lead the 2021 leaderboard.
3. Kenyan Drake: 22.11 mph
Team: Arizona Cardinals; Play: 69-yard rushing touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6.
Drake burst through the middle untouched and finished Arizona’s dominant Monday night win with a 69-yard touchdown. His 22.11 mph sprint made him one of only three players to reach at least 22 mph during the 2020 regular season.
2. Raheem Mostert: 22.73 mph
Team: San Francisco 49ers; Play: 76-yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1.
Mostert caught the short pass, turned upfield and outran Arizona’s defense for a 76-yard touchdown. His 22.73 mph speed would have led every other player by more than half a mile per hour, but it was still only his second-fastest play of the season.
1. Raheem Mostert: 23.09 mph
Team: San Francisco 49ers; Play: 80-yard rushing touchdown against the New York Jets in Week 2.
Mostert took the opening handoff through the right side and immediately separated for an 80-yard touchdown. He reached 23.09 mph, the fastest speed by an NFL ball carrier during the 2020 regular season and the only mark above 23 mph.
Mostert’s No. 1 play came one week after his 22.73 mph touchdown reception against Arizona. Owning both of the top two spots made him the clear speed leader of the season, with a 0.62 mph gap between his second entry and Drake in third.
What the 2020 Speed Leaderboard Reveals
- Raheem Mostert owned the top two spots. His 23.09 and 22.73 mph touchdowns were separated by 0.36 mph.
- Four plays reached at least 22 mph. Mostert did it twice, while Drake and Taylor each did it once.
- Running backs controlled the top of the table. Every play above 22 mph came from the position.
- The top 10 spanned 1.43 mph. Mostert’s 23.09 led Metcalf’s 21.66 by the widest top-to-bottom margin in this group.
- Five of the 10 fastest plays ended in touchdowns. Mostert scored twice, while Drake, Hill and Davis supplied the other three.
- The top 10 included five running back entries, three wide receiver entries and two cornerback entries. Speed appeared on offense, defense and special teams.
Mostert’s two touchdowns showed how quickly one crease could become an unrecoverable angle, while Taylor and Drake paired top-end speed with true backfield workloads. For a broader evaluation of production, durability and all-around skill, see the best running backs in the NFL today.
Complete Top 20 Fastest NFL Ball Carriers of 2020
The official Next Gen Stats table contains 20 plays by 18 players. It includes the player’s position, top speed, week and play type. The published ranks are preserved where multiple plays display the same speed.
| RK | Player | Team | Pos | Speed (MPH) | Wk | Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raheem Mostert | SF | RB | 23.09 | 2 | 80-yard rush TD |
| 2 | Raheem Mostert | SF | RB | 22.73 | 1 | 76-yard reception TD |
| 3 | Kenyan Drake | AZ | RB | 22.11 | 6 | 69-yard rush TD |
| 4 | Jonathan Taylor | IND | RB | 22.05 | 17 | 29-yard rush |
| 5 | Tyreek Hill | KC | WR | 21.91 | 14 | 44-yard reception TD |
| 6 | Nyheim Hines | IND | RB | 21.85 | 13 | 19-yard kickoff return* |
| 7 | Trevon Diggs | DAL | CB | 21.72 | 8 | 0-yard interception |
| 8 | Nelson Agholor | LV | WR | 21.72 | 17 | 57-yard reception |
| 9 | Michael Davis | LAC | CB | 21.68 | 4 | 78-yard interception TD |
| 10 | DK Metcalf | SEA | WR | 21.66 | 7 | 6-yard reception* |
| 11 | Derrick Henry | TEN | RB | 21.62 | 6 | 94-yard rush TD |
| 12 | Jonathan Taylor | IND | RB | 21.60 | 13 | 39-yard reception TD |
| 13 | Will Fuller | HOU | WR | 21.56 | 12 | 40-yard reception TD |
| 14 | D.J. Moore | CAR | WR | 21.52 | 5 | 57-yard reception TD |
| 15 | A.J. Brown | TEN | WR | 21.52 | 7 | 73-yard reception TD |
| 16 | Curtis Samuel | CAR | WR | 21.50 | 9 | 14-yard reception TD |
| 17 | Devin Duvernay | BAL | WR | 21.48 | 3 | 93-yard kickoff return TD |
| 18 | Tyron Johnson | LAC | WR | 21.46 | 4 | 53-yard reception TD |
| 19 | Miles Sanders | PHI | RB | 21.44 | 4 | 8-yard rush |
| 20 | Isaiah McKenzie | BUF | WR | 21.44 | 5 | 3-yard reception TD |
* Penalty on the play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the fastest NFL ball carrier in 2020?
Raheem Mostert was the fastest NFL ball carrier of the 2020 regular season at 23.09 mph. He reached that speed on an 80-yard touchdown run against the New York Jets in Week 2.
Why does Raheem Mostert appear twice?
This is a play-based leaderboard, so every qualifying play is ranked separately. Mostert recorded speeds of 23.09 and 22.73 mph on two different touchdowns, giving him the top two positions.
Who was the fastest wide receiver in 2020?
Tyreek Hill was the fastest wide receiver on the leaderboard at 21.91 mph. He reached that speed on a 44-yard touchdown reception against the Miami Dolphins.
Why do tied displayed speeds have different ranks?
Next Gen Stats publishes each play at a separate sequential position even when the displayed speeds match. This article preserves the official order for Diggs and Agholor at 21.72 mph, Moore and Brown at 21.52, and Sanders and McKenzie at 21.44.
Sources and Data Notes
Data scope: NFL regular-season plays from the 2020 season. Preseason and postseason plays are excluded. Each play is ranked by maximum ball-carrier speed. Displayed ranks follow the official Next Gen Stats leaderboard, including separate published positions for plays that display the same speed. Team names reflect the player’s team when the play occurred. Last reviewed: August 6, 2026.
- NFL video of Raheem Mostert’s 80-yard touchdown run, Mostert’s 76-yard touchdown reception and Kenyan Drake’s 69-yard touchdown.
Raheem Mostert Owned the 2020 Speed Leaderboard
Raheem Mostert led the fastest NFL ball carriers of 2020 at 23.09 mph and also ranked second at 22.73. Kenyan Drake followed at 22.11, while Jonathan Taylor reached 22.05. Mostert produced the season’s fastest single moment and the only two plays above 22.7 mph.
The gap between Mostert and the final top-10 entry was 1.43 mph. Across the expanded top 20, 1.65 mph separated Mostert from Miles Sanders and Isaiah McKenzie at 21.44. Mostert did more than edge the field in 2020; he created real separation at the top of it.
Fastest NFL Players by Year
Compare the fastest NFL ball carriers from every season tracked in this series:
- Fastest NFL Players in 2025
- Fastest NFL Players in 2024
- Fastest NFL Players in 2023
- Fastest NFL Players in 2022
- Fastest NFL Players in 2021
- Fastest NFL Players in 2020 (current page)
- Fastest NFL Players in 2019
- Fastest NFL Players in 2018
