Who is the fastest player in the NFL? Tyreek Hill, other Dolphins dominate list of top 2023 speeds so far

The Dolphins' skill position players have spent much of the 2023 season running past opposing defenders. And given how effective they've been at scoring, it should be no surprise they're among the fastest to do it.

Tyreek Hill, De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert give Miami an offense that features explosive speed that has made it one of the most feared units among opposing defenses.

While Hill, Achane and Mostert have elite speed, there are plenty of other NFL players who have the capability to put on a track meet display at any time during a game. Players like Ja'Marr Chase, Breece Hall and Aaron Jones have speed more than capable of blazing past opponents on the field.

But which players are the fastest in the NFL? Sporting News is taking a look at all the data you need to look at the league's quickest players.

MORE: How Dolphins' 'track team' compares to fastest in NFL history

Who is the fastest player in the NFL?

There's probably no easy way to answer the question of who is the fastest player in the NFL. Is that the fastest player in a straight line? Quickest while running routes? Fastest without helmets and pads?

We can always do our best to answer that question, however, and there are at least a few metrics that have potential answers. NFL Next Gen Stats tracks the fastest ball-carriers in a game, though those stats do not count players running without the ball in their hands. There are also 40 times from the NFL combine which measure the speed of a player without a helmet and pads going in a straight line, though players often get faster as they get older.

To start, let's take a look at the data from NFL Next Gen Stats.

Top 10 fastest players in 2023

NFL Next Gen Stats each week counts the top 20 fastest speeds in miles per hour by players carrying the football. There is no public database that features all the speeds, but the NFL does at least carry a general list that shows the 20 fastest players each year. Anyone from quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers to tight ends and defenders — even punters — have logged times in given weeks. So long as a player has held the ball during a play, their speed has been tracked and accounted.

The list of the fastest players in 2023 feature a lot of players wearing teal. Thus far through the first six weeks of the season, seven of the top 10 speeds have been tallied by Dolphin players, with three from Hill, three from Achane and one from Mostert.

* - Achane's 3-yard rush was called back on an offensive holding penalty

Top 10 fastest players in 2022

There weren't as many Dolphins in the 2022 list. Achane was not in the NFL, and neither Hill nor Mostert cracked the list. Instead, the Ravens had the most in the end-of-year top 10 with two in DeSean Jackson and Devin Duvernay. So far, Breece Hall is the only player to appear in the top 10 for both 2022 and 2023.

Who has the fastest time in a regular season game?

There is no all-time database of the times, but it is still possible to figure out the fastest tracked ball-carriers of the Next Gen Stats era. Data dates back to 2016, and from there, we can see the fastest speeds from each year.

Hill and Mostert pepper the list, with Hill from 2016 coming in at first and third, and Mostert from 2020 popping up at second and fourth on the list. Mostert's two additions to the list are the most recent adds to the top 10.

NFL players' fastest 40 times

It is perhaps surprising to see that while Hill, Achane and Mostert have been the NFL's fastest players in 2023, none of them crack the list of the fastest 40 times in recorded NFL history. Electronic timing only began in 1999, so while there are likely other players in history who would have made this list had they run it with those measurements available, they are not counted since it was a different way of tracking the times.

Here's a look at the fastest recorded 40 times, led by the record holder since 2017.

What is Tyreek Hill's 40 time?

Hill was not a participant in the 2016 NFL Combine due to a domestic abuse arrest. The South Alabama wide receiver ran at his school's Pro Day, and was clocked in at a 4.29 40-yard dash.

What is De'Von Achane's 40 time?

Achane ran at the 2023 NFL Combine, and posted a time of 4.32 in the 40-yard dash, perhaps a surprising time given his top speeds posted in the 2023 NFL season.

What is Raheem Mostert's 40 time?

Back in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mostert posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.34 seconds, sixth-fastest in the class, while also making him on paper the slowest of the Dolphins' speedy trio.