Top 10 Fastest NFL Players Ever – #10 Devin Hester
#10 – Devin Hester
I’m starting off reiterating my introduction. This is not a list of fastest 40 yard dash times or their 100 meter/200 meter performances. In-game speed is the most important metric.
Devin Hester is the perfect example of elite in game speed despite performing poorly at the NFL Combine due to an injury. His time of 4.41 does not do him justice because when he had pads on and had the ball in his hands he was the best returner in NFL history.
Teams would kick out of bounds instead of rolling the dice with this return ace. You don’t think he was one of the fastest? Then explain Devin Hester’s 8 return touchdowns in his rookie season. Eventually he would break Deion Sanders’ return touchdown record cementing his spot as the best ever. All you I can say is, “DEVIN HESTER YOU ARE RIDICULOUS!”
Top 10 Fastest Players in NFL History – #9 Trindon Holliday
#9 – Trindon Holliday
The term sprinter in pads applies perfectly for Trindon Holliday. He is far from the best NFL player on this list, but this was a guy with world class sprinter speed. When he competed in the USA Track & Field championships, his time of 10.07 in the 100 meter dash was ahead of Walter Dix and second only to Tyson Gay.
Carrying over that speed on the football field with pads on was not his problem. Far from it. It was his inability to consistently hold onto the ball that led to his short NFL career.
How can the only player to score both a kick and punt return touchdown in post-season action only last 5 seasons in the NFL? It was because for every time he saved the day with an amazing return touchdown in clutch time, there was an equally damning blunder by muffing the punt or fumbling the ball that put his team in a hole. He had world class speed, but not nearly refined enough of a player to remain consistent.
Top 10 Fastest NFL Players Ever – #8 DeSean Jackson
#8 – DeSean Jackson
Much like Devin Hester, don’t completely buy in to his combine numbers. DeSean Jackson has been one of the fastest players in the NFL over this past decade.
If you look at the yards per reception leaders year by year over the past decade, DeSean Jackson led the pack 4 out of 10 seasons. His production has been uncanny.
He is the type of player who is just as quick and agile as he is fast. This explosive style of play made him one of the most dangerous wide receivers with or without the ball in his hands.
Even today at 33 years old is one of the most lethal deep threats in the game. You look back 2 seasons and he still managed to lead the league in yards per reception at the age of 31. On top of that, DeSean Jackson has the most 60+ yard touchdowns in NFL history.
