New York Jets Anderson is competition for NFL’s Fastest Man and $1M prize

Robby Anderson, New York Jets. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Robby Anderson, New York Jets. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Saturday night, 16 of the NFL’s fastest will run in the 40 Yards of Gold. New York Jets receiver Robby Anderson is in the field for the $1M prize and the title of “NFL’s Fastest Man.”

Who is the fastest man in the NFL? It’s a good question and one that gets kicked around at stadiums and sports bars across the country. Saturday night we will find out. 16 of the league’s elite go head-to-head for a $1M first place prize and the title of NFL’s Fastest Man in the “40 yards of Gold” competition from South Florida on pay-per-view. The New York Jets are represented by their resident fastest player, wide receiver Robby Anderson.

It’s a stacked field that includes, the former “fastest man in college football,” Kevin Snead, ex-sprinter Jacoby Ford of the Titans, the man who has the fourth-best 40 time in combine history, Niners receiver Marquise Goodwin, free agent cornerback Jaylen Myrek, who is tied for the fifth fastest time, and the man who has a standing offer of $10K dollars to any football player who can beat him straight up, Ted Ginn Jr. of New Orleans.

Anderson ran a 4.34 in workouts with the New York Jets which led to his signing as an undrafted free agent out of Temple University in 2016. He is explosive off the line and hard for defensive backs to close on, once he gets separation on deep routes. While that’s good in football, it isn’t necessarily fastest man material.

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The contest is a simple single elimination format. There are eight offensive players on one side of the bracket and eight defensive players on the other. Anderson as a wide receiver is obviously on the offense side of the tournament and he has his hands full if he’s going to make it to the finals.

The New York Jets speedster may have gotten a break with his first round opponent, Saints running back Alvin Kamara. The former University of Tennessee Volunteers star was clocked anywhere between 4.53 – 4.56 in the lead up to the 2018 NFL draft. On paper, Anderson seems to have an advantage.

Anderson may be favored to win his opener, but after that, all bets are off. Should he, in fact, win, he would face the winner of the Jacoby Ford (4.28) – Ted Ginn Jr. (4.28). In case anyone was wondering, the difference of .05 seconds in a 40-yard dash is a little over a foot, so it’s not like Anderson doesn’t have a chance to win it all.

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The field is so tight that a well-timed lean could be the difference between a million dollars and second place.