NFL's Fastest Players

[GMO415]

Fastest guy I saw in a uniform was Bo.

Just ask Boz

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Nobody said there weren’t others that were considered ultra fast. That wasn’t the point of contention. You said Hayes never appeared to break away from defenders, and all the evidence is to the contrary. For the time he played there was nobody in his class in terms of speed

I also never said that. You’re continually trying to misconstrue my comment to fit your narrative.

 

[OmerV]

I also never said that. You’re continually trying to misconstrue my comment to fit your narrative.

Yes, you did.

 

[Scotman]

Hayes was the fastest. I've watched every player mentioned in this thread and Hayes' straight line speed was awe inspiring. He did run right by people...often...even when they gave him a cushion. But, you can't deny that D. Sanders was not just fast, but embarrassingly fast with the ball in his hands. Bo was crazy fast for a guy that strong. Larry Allen was faster than what looked like was even possible for a human that big. Daryl Green was almost always the fastest guy on the field and he stayed that fast for a long, long time.

I could make the case for any one of these guys. The people who made the video made Hayes second for a reason...so that people like us will watch it and debate it. ALL of these arguments are sound. ALL of these guys are/were respectively fast. I loved watching all of them play. Except Green. Great guy...but he played for the division enemy...so...not him.

 

[Melonfeud]

Hundreds of players have done what? Take your pick …

Hundreds of players have had 400 yard 6 TD games?

Hundreds of players have forced the NFL to create new defenses designed specifically to find a way to defend against them?

Hundreds of players have averaged 20 yards per catch over their careers?

Hundreds of players have averaged 26 yards per catch in a season?

Hundreds of players have won the Olympic Gold medal in the 100 yard/100 meter?

Bobby Hayes was one bona fide powerhouse of
Bad Assery

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Yes, you did.

Quote me where I said he never appeared to break away. I never said that, you’re trying to use absolutism to prove some misguided point.

 

[OmerV]

Quote me where I said he never appeared to break away. I never said that, you’re trying to use absolutism to prove some misguided point.

Post #6 in this thread

 

[Johnny23]

Exactly. I can't sneeze at Darrell Green being number 1 but we love a "Cowboys wuz robbed" whinefest around here. Just wait until the NFL 100 list comes out. Lol.

Bullet Bob was the World's Fastest Man. I would have loved to see them race at those 80s and 90s wide world of sports competitions though.

 

[Johnny23]

Ever seen Usain Bolt run the 100m? He's never out front after the first 40 yards. There are a 100 guys who could beat him in a 40 yard dash. But he builds speed as the race goes and when he finally gets to top speed, nobody can touch him. Point is that the 40 is more about explosion and acceleration than speed. You can't compare a guys 60 yard or 100M time and project it to a 40 yard time.

Bob Hayes was fast for his era but track and field is progressive. Hayes couldn't touch Carl Lewis in a 100M dash. Carl Lewis wouldn't have even made the US track team as a sprinter last olympics. Dudes are just getting faster.

If they have the same Training and equal footing I disagree.

 

[408Cowboy]

If Deion Sanders had played WR in Hayes era and Hayes in Deion's do any of you think we would be saying Deion is the reason the zone defense was created? I bet we would be.

And it's NFL's fastest players not Olympian turned NFL fastest players. so if you are using Hayes accomplishments in that you may be missing the parameters set for judging the list.

 

[cowboyec]

WR Bob Hayes.
RB Duane Thomas.
RB Tony Dorsett.
RB Herschel Walker.
CB Deion Sanders.

we even dominate this sport in speed.

'MERICA'S TEAM

 

[Number1]

Bullet Bob Hayes was once clocked at 5.28 in the 60-yard dash.

I've heard 6.28 for Bob in the 60 more than once, I think it was digitally pulled from tape of him running a 100y ...
5.28 may not be physically possible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men's_60_metres_world_record_progression

given his running style an ability that 6.28" 60y for Bob could very well be be true

most sprinters in a 100y hit full speed right a round 40y, and start slowing alot, sprinters with big strides like Hayes, Lewis, or Bolt (or Mike Gallup) hit top speed at around 50y and then don't slow down as much as quicker (short stride) sprinters.

but unlike Lewis, Bolt, or Gallup, Bob was only 6'0" tall and led almost all races in the first 20 yards
watch any tape of him running a 100y sprint you'll see what I mean, by 40y it was over, he was coasting by 80-85y

if you watch Lewis and Bolt they don't take over a race until about 70y and don't coast until 90y-95y

here's blazing fast 40 speed in NFL
0 - 20y 2.50"
0 - 40y 4.30"
0 - 60y world record is 6.33

of any sprinter Bob was probably the fastest over the first 60y .... but that's not the whole story

Bob went to school on football scholarship and didn't really train hard for track until college ... and always considered himself a WR
Bob put up more impressive WR stats than he had track stats. For real.

Jerry Rice, first 7 years, 84y per game on 4.8 receptions, that's 17.2 PC, ... 17% TD rate per touch
Randy Moss, first 7 years, 83y per game on 5.2 receptions, that's 15.3 PC, ... 15% TD rate per touch
Bob Hayes, first 7 years, 72y a game on 3.5 receptions, 20.6 YPC, and he scored on 1 of every 5 catches ... a 20% TD rate per touch.

to me that is far more impressive than any number of gold medals

Rice was the best WR to ever play the game by far. IMO, the #2 player all time behind Jim Brown.

Hayes was the best deep WR ever by far. IMO, a top 10 all time player and yes, arguably the fastest ever.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Post #6 in this thread

Doesn’t say that anywhere. Bullet Bob Hayes was the greatest deep threat of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time. To say he can’t get separation is wrong, and for you to proclaim I ever said he never got separation is just you lying to try and win an argument.

I said he never had sub-4.00 separation, because he didn’t play as fast on the football field as he did on track in gym shorts, as most guys don’t. Some play equally as fast, and a select few play even faster, like Darrell Green as many cowboys fans in this thread have admitted to.

 

[OmerV]

Doesn’t say that anywhere. Bullet Bob Hayes was the greatest deep threat of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time. To say he can’t get separation is wrong, and for you to proclaim I ever said he never got separation is just you lying to try and win an argument.

I said he never had sub-4.00 separation, because he didn’t play as fast on the football field as he did on track in gym shorts, as most guys don’t. Some play equally as fast, and a select few play even faster, like Darrell Green as many cowboys fans in this thread have admitted to.

lol - this is taken directly from that post ...

"Bob Hayes was a speed demon in his prime, but he never looked like he was breaking away from the secondary …"

As for him not playing on the football field as fast as he was on the track, that would be true of every player, fast or slow, including the guys trying to cover him. That doesn't change the fact that no individual player could compete with his speed, and teams had to create a new zone defense to handle his speed. Before the zone defenses teams had to give up so much cushion that they conceded anything within 10 yards and hoped like Hell they could keep him from making a move, because if he did he was gone.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

lol - this is taken directly from that post ...

"Bob Hayes was a speed demon in his prime, but he never looked like he was breaking away from the secondary …"

“...every play, which he should have been if he ran as fast as he did in the olympics.”

context is relevant.

 

[OmerV]

“...every play, which he should have been if he ran as fast as he did in the olympics.”

context is relevant.

EVERY PLAY? lol, that's as nonsensical as your 400 yard, 6 TD comment.

Are you under the impression that teams were lining up their DBs side by side with Hayes at the line of scrimmage and forcing them to try and run stride for stride with him, like two sprinters side by side in the blocks on a track?

DBs were giving up 10-15 yard cushions to try and keep Hayes from running by them every play, and he was still able to do it much more than any other player at that time.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

EVERY PLAY? lol, that's as nonsensical as your 400 yard, 6 TD comment.

Are you under the impression that teams were lining up their DBs side by side with Hayes at the line of scrimmage and forcing them to try and run stride for stride with him, like two sprinters side by side in the blocks on a track?

DBs were giving up 10-15 yard cushions to try and keep Hayes from running by them every play, and he was still able to do it much more than any other player at that time.

DBs played both on Hayes with safety help over the top, and they played off him too. As they do with all receivers. If the only played way off, he could cut inside for 5-8 catches every drive, which is nonsense. Of course the corners had to be in position to stop that.

But when he did get them, that’s a half second every 40 yards. That’s what is insinuated, a pro vs high school guys. Think about that. Two people at full sprint, how many body lengths would one guy be if he was a half a second further than the other? It was never like that. He beat them with his speed a few times a game, as do many deep threats throughout nfl history.

And every deep threat gets a cushion like that. Desean Jackson had safeties routinely lining up 30-40 yards downfield to make sure he didn’t go by.

 

[Sydla]

One surprising thing in this thread is Aerolith waxing on about Desean Jackson.

Color me surprised.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

One surprising thing in this thread is Aerolith waxing on about Desean Jackson.

Color me surprised.

He’s the most recent comparison to Bob Hayes, either him or the ill-advised nanny.

 

[Doomsday101]

Hayes began to make his mark on the NFL as soon as he arrived: He
led the league with 21.8 yards per catch in his rookie season,
and he sustained that career average of 20 yards per reception, a
figure few players even approach nowadays for a single season.
The zone defense had existed in the NFL before his arrival, but
it was crude by today's standards, and Hayes could destroy that
kind of coverage the same way he did man-to-man alignments. So
coaches came up with a double zone to try to control him. A
cornerback would play him tight as he came off the line--in those
days defenders could do anything they wanted to a receiver,
except grab and hold--and another defensive back would pick him up
deep. Or coaches would assign the deepest defensive back, usually
the free safety, to make sure he stayed behind Hayes, which
opened up vast areas underneath. No other player caused that kind
of strategic overhaul of the defensive game.

https://www.si.com/vault/2002/09/30...re-were-demons-in-life-that-he-couldnt-outrun

I think we sometimes forget that in the days of Bob Hayes rules were very much different as pointed out in this article. WR were mauled down the field and it was perfectly legal. There was no 5 yard bump rule