Fastest Player on Every NFL Team

Football purists will wax poetic all day about what makes a great player. They’ll tell you about this mythical mix of talent, toughness, strength and determination that churns out Hall of Famers. In the end, it’s something much more concrete. It’s speed. And if you don’t have any of it, you’re not going to go very far.

Nowhere is more of a premium put on speed than at the NFL scouting combine, where 40-yard dash times have been pored over and examined as an indicator of future NFL success. And usually, it’s pretty spot on.

These are the fastest players on every NFL team, based on recorded 40-yard dash times.

Note: All 40-yard dash times are from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise indicated, and all players were on rosters as of Oct. 5, 2020.

High school: Blanche Ely High School (Pompano Beach, Florida) 

College: LSU

Position: Cornerback

40-yard dash time (year): 4.31 seconds (2011)

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 203 pounds

NFL career: 10 seasons (2011-present)

Team: Arizona Cardinals

Career highlights: Four-time NFL All-Pro (2011, 2013, 2015, 2018), eight-time Pro Bowl (2011-18), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, two-time FBS All-American (2009, 2010), Bednarik Award winner (2010), Thorpe Award winner (2010)

Bottom line: One decade into his NFL story, Patrick Peterson’s career has been a dizzying blur of highlight-reel plays — just not with the wins to match.

Peterson, along with former college and pro teammate Tyran Mathieu, seemingly kept the Cardinals competitive on their own for years.

High school: Mayfield High School (Mayfield, Ohio) 

College: UMass

Position: Wide receiver

40-yard dash time (year): 4.31 seconds (2019)

Height/weight: 5-foot-9, 188 pounds

NFL career: 2 seasons (2019-present)

Teams: Arizona Cardinals

Career highlights: FCS All-American (2018), Biletnikoff Award finalist (2018)

Bottom line: You can’t help but cheer for a player like Adam Isabella. He somehow played his way into a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft out of UMass at just 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds.

All praise should go to the analytics department for Arizona. When you’re as fast as Isabella and can jump as high as he can, who cares how tall you are? 

High school: Foley High School (Foley, Alabama)

College: Alabama

Position: Wide receiver

40-yard dash time (year): 4.34 second (2011)

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 220 pounds

NFL career: 10 seasons (2011-present)

Teams: Atlanta Falcons

Career highlights: Five-time NFL All-Pro (2015-19), seven-time Pro Bowl (2012, 2014-19), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, BCS national champion (2009), SEC Freshman of the Year (2008)

Bottom line: Julio Jones is perhaps the dominant receiver of his generation. Just ask opposing players, who have to deal with his scary combination of size, speed and athleticism.

We knew Jones was something special the first time we ever saw him snagging passes out of the air for Alabama, and a decade in the NFL has reinforced that. 

High school: Copperas Cove High School (Copperas Cove, Texas) 

College: Baylor

Position: Quarterback

40-yard dash time (year): 4.33 seconds (2012) 

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 213 pounds

NFL career: 9 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Washington Redskins (2012-15), Cleveland Browns (2016), Baltimore Ravens (2018-present)

Career highlights: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2012), Pro Bowl (2012), Heisman Trophy winner (2011), FBS All-American (2011)

Bottom line: Robert Griffin III was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft out of Baylor and seemed destined to be an NFL star after his first few seasons in the league — in no small part thanks to his world-class speed.

Injuries derailed Griffin’s career as a starter, but he pivoted and became one of the league’s most reliable, respected backups.