Who is the fastest player in the NFL?

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a miracle and beat the Washington Commanders on the road. There were many factors that contributed to this, but what people will remember most is the special teams wide receiver KaVontae Turpin’s 99-yard punt return for a touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.

First, Austin Seibert’s punt landed and bounced between Turpin’s legs, but he caught it (with one hand, no less) and ran about 10 yards away performing a spin move to unnerve half a dozen Commanders playersand then turned on the jets to demonstrate his impressive speed Run it untouched to the end zoneand put Dallas ahead by 10 in a crazy finish.

“When I did the spin move and came through, I knew for sure it was a touchdown.” Turpin said.

Fastest man in the NFL in 2024

Just a week before Turpin pulled off this crazy move, he surpassed Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. as the fastest player in the NFL this season. In Week 11, Turpin recorded the fastest speed of any player in an NFL game this season with a 64-yard touchdown catch and run against the Houston Texans, Reaching a top speed of 22.36 miles per hour according to NextGen Stats.

Previously, Thomas reached 22.15 mph in Week 5 after an 85-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence. Not only did Turpin overtake Thomas, he did it eclipse the top speed of the 2023 seasonwhich belonged to the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalfwho has achieved 22.23 miles per hour on a 73-yard touchdown in Week 13 last year.

Turpin’s speed is not the fastest ever, but it is the fastest since 2020 Raheem Mostert set the NFL record with an 80-yard rushing touchdown that put the then-San Francisco 49ers running back within striking distance 23.09 miles per hour.

As for this Sunday’s spin move/touchdown run, Turpin reached a top speed of 21.35 miles per hourthe third-fastest top speed on a kickoff return this season.

As mentioned here, Turpin is now responsible for three of the 20 fastest speeds by a ball carrier in 2024with Eagles running back Saquon Barkley being the only other player to have three in the top 20.

In 2019, at his Pro Day, Turpin ran the 40-yard dash in 4.31 seconds. He joined the Cowboys in 2022 after playing in the minor football leagues.

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