If you ever wondered who the NFL's fastest player is, you're in luck. Thanks to the computer chips inserted into the players' shoulder pads, Sportsradar was able to compile info to reveal the fastest player in the league.
While the NFL Combine is used to determine concrete stats, it placed Jacksonville Jaguars' running back Leonard Fournette as one of the slower runners. But it's Fournette who ended up being the fastest in the league. Although Fournette trailed behind 53 players at this year's combine with a time of 4.51 seconds, when it comes to field play, the 240-pound player reigned supreme.
"I was 240 and ran a 4.51," said Fournette to The New York Times. "There’s guys who ran 4.4s or whatever else and they’re getting caught from behind in a game. Football speed and track speed is a big difference, man."
Fournette's highest speed this year topped off at 22.05 m.p.h. As The New York Times, points out, Usain Bolt a.k.a. the fastest man in the world, broke the world record with 27.8 m.p.h. during the 100-meter dash at the 2009 World Championships. But, the difference is, Bolt wasn't wearing heavy football gear or running on grass.
“Combine speed is overrated,” said Tavon Austin, the Los Angeles Rams’ speedy receiver to NYT. “It might give you a good look to see what you can run in a straight line, but football’s not played in a straight line.”
Other offensive top speeds included Los Angeles Rams' Todd Gurley (21.98 m.p.h.), Fournette, again (21.76 m.p.h.), San Francisco 49ers' Marquise Goodwin (21.68 m.p.h.), and Kansas City Chiefs' Tyreek Hill (21.64 m.p.h.).
