NY Jets: 10 fastest players on the team’s current roster

The NY Jets have a surprising amount of speed on their current roster from some unexpected sources.

The NY Jets have never been a franchise known for their speed, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t had their fair share of speedy players over the years.

From the likes of Laveranues Coles to more recently Robby Anderson, the Jets have fielded some of the fastest players in the league. But it’s important to remember that while speed can kill, it’s far from everything.

Some of the fastest players to ever play in the NFL haven’t actually found much success in the league. Remember Saalim Hakim? What about Justin Miller? It’s clear that speed isn’t always a precursor for future success.

But it certainly never hurts.

The Jets’ current roster actually has quite a few players who can take it to an extra gear when it comes to their speed. We’re set to look at 10 of the fastest players on the Jets’ roster right now.

For the sake of this exercise, we’re going to determine a player’s speed by using their recorded 40-yard dash times in college. Is this the most efficient way of determining this? Probably not.

But a 40-time is the only tangible form of evidence we have to compare players’ speeds. So that’s what we’re going to roll with.

With that, let’s take a look at the 10 fastest players currently on the Jets’ 90-man roster.

Next: No. 10 and No. 9

10. Ashtyn Davis, S, NY Jets — 4.28 – 4.39?

There’s a good chance that Ashtyn Davis belongs higher on this list, but unfortunately, we really only have estimates of what his 40-yard dash time is.

Davis wasn’t able to partake in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and his Pro Day, where he was expected to run it, was canceled. Thus, we really don’t have a reliably recorded figure.

However, it’s been speculated that he runs anywhere from a 4.28 to a 4.39 which would be almost unheard of for a safety. If Davis was able to run the 40 at the Combine, it’s unlikely he falls to the Jets in the third round.

But fortunately for Gang Green, the NFL never got to put an official number on Davis’ speed leaving scouts to rely on tape to determine the speed of the former Pac-12 110-meter hurdles champion.

We don’t have an official number, but he needed to be included.

9. Braxton Berrios, WR, NY Jets — 4.44

Given his stature and skill set, Braxton Berrios has tended to get pigeonholed into the classic “quicker than fast” stereotype that follows a lot of small slot receivers.

But make no mistake about it, Berrios is fast. Really fast.

The Miami product ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Combine establishing himself as one of the faster receivers in his draft class. And Jets fans were witness to Berrios’ speed last season.

Back in Week 12, Berrios turned a short pass into a 69-yard gain in which he reached speeds of up to 20.95 miles per hour, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Ask the Raiders defense if Berrios is really “quicker than fast.”

Next: No. 8 and No. 7

8. Josh Malone, WR, NY Jets — 4.40

One of the lesser-known players on the Jets’ roster, Josh Malone is also one of the team’s speediest. A fourth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, Malone’s 4.40 40-yard dash likely helped his draft stock.

Unfortunately, that speed hasn’t exactly translated into on-field success as the former Tennessee star has just one catch over the past two seasons.

Most likely won’t realize, but Malone actually plated in two games for the Jets last season receiving 21 total snaps on offense (and curiously none on special teams).

The Jets have plenty of speed at wide receiver (as you’ll see in a moment), so Malone will have to show more than just that to earn a roster spot this summer.

7. Trenton Cannon, RB, NY Jets — 4.40

The forgotten man in the Jets’ backfield, Trenton Cannon has always been a player known for his speed. While he offers little else in the way of being a running back, his speed as kept him under contract to this point.

Cannon was not invited to the NFL Combine, but he ran a swift 4.40 40-yard dash at Richmond’s Pro Day (his alma mater of Virginia State was too small to host one).

Primarily used as a gunner on special teams, Cannon’s speed has allowed him to carve out a role separate from the offense. And if he is to continue holding on to a roster spot, he’ll have to maintain that role.

With a name like “Cannon,” it’s only fitting that he’s one of the fastest players on the team.

Next: No. 6 and No. 5

6. Denzel Mims, WR, NY Jets — 4.38

There may be no freakier of an athlete on this list than Denzel Mims. Many of the players we’re talking about are on the smaller, leaner side. Not Mims, however.

The former Baylor star ran a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Combine and he did so at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds. His blend of size and speed is reminiscent of D.K. Metcalf from a year ago and it certainly got him noticed in the pre-draft process.

Unlike many of the players on this list, Mims doesn’t make a living with his speed. But that certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t a huge part of his game.

Mims is fast and for a player his size, it just isn’t fair how fast he really is.

5. Vyncint Smith, WR, NY Jets — 4.36

For those keeping score at home, this is the fourth wide receiver we’ve seen on this list. And believe me, we’re far from done.

This time we’re talking about Vyncint Smith whose 4.36 40-yard dash at his Pro Day put him on the map in the pre-draft process. After graduating from Division-II Limestone College, Smith needed something to help him stand out.

And his speed proved to be exactly that.

Smith will look to find a reliable role in the Jets’ offense this season after impressing in limited opportunities last year. And just like his speed allowed him to stand out in the past, it could do the same form him again in 2020.

Next: No. 4 and No. 3

4. George Campbell, WR, NY Jets — 4.35

The Jets signed two undrafted free agent wide receivers following the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft and while Georgia’s Lawrence Cager has gotten most of the love, West Virginia’s George Campbell deserves some praise as well.

A former five-star recruit, Campbell never found his footing at Florida State and saw his collegiate career ravaged by injuries. As a result, he never developed much as a receiver and he remains very unrefined.

But his speed as never been a problem.

Campbell wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, but he ran a lively 4.35 in his own virtual Pro Day which shaved 0.01 off of his original 4.36 40-yard dash that he posted in high school. In high school!

If Campbell is going to make any waves this summer, it’s going to be because of his speed.

3. Jeff Smith, WR, NY Jets — 4.34

Another entry, another wide receiver. Seriously, it seems as though more than half of the Jets’ receivers ran sub-4.45 40-yard dashes.

Up next it’s Jeff Smith who signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent last season. Originally a quarterback at Boston College, Smith moved to wide receiver in his sophomore season and developed into one of the team’s most dangerous offensive weapons.

Smith was promoted to the Jets’ active roster for one game last season where he hauled in one catch for 12 yards before ending up on the injured reserve. But he flashed glimpses of his incredible 4.34 speed during his brief time on the field.

That type of speed doesn’t just grow on trees and expect the Jets to look to find a way to make use of it in some way, even if he does land on the practice squad to begin the year.

Next: No. 2 and No. 1

2. Javelin Guidry, CB, NY Jets — 4.29

One of the more unheralded undrafted signings the Jets made this offseason is that of Utah cornerback Javelin Guidry.

Guidry made his presence felt at the 2020 NFL Combine running an incredible 4.29 40-yard dash which ranked second among all players just behind Alabama wideout Henry Ruggs.

The former nickel cornerback for the Utes didn’t make as many headlines as Ruggs, but his 40-time was still impressive enough to garner some looks after the draft.

While he has a long way to go as a cornerback, his speed gives him a leg up on the competition right out of the gate.

1. Breshad Perriman, WR, NY Jets — 4.25

We end this list with our seventh receiver and in this case, by far the fastest player on the team. Now, there is a little caveat with this one as Breshad Perriman sadly never got to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine due to a nagging hamstring injury at the time.

But if he did run, he would have made a serious run at Chris Johnson’s then-record 4.24 40-yard dash. Instead, Perriman was forced to run at his Pro Day where he was clocked at unofficial times ranging from 4.19 to 4.27.

Yes, you read that correctly. 4.19. For context, John Ross, who eventually broke Johnson’s record, ran a 4.22 a couple of years later.

Of course, there is a certain margin for error with Pro Day times, so we decided to go with analyst tuned Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock’s clocked time which was 4.25 — that’s the figure that has been most universally agreed upon.

The Jets may have lost the lightning-quick Robby Anderson in the offseason, but they replaced his speed with that of one of the fastest players in the NFL in Perriman.