Bucs Gameday

Jamel Dean's Twitter Challenge Sparks Heated Debate Between Fastest NFL Players

The Bucs' speedy cornerback is putting himself and his teammates up against anyone else in the league.

Collin Haalboom

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Jamel Dean is fast.

He's also developed into a very well-rounded cornerback since he last ran a 40-yard dash to prove it. 

But his confidence in his own speed hasn't wavered since 2019, which is when he first showed off his speed on the main stage, running the 40-yard dash in 4.30 seconds at Lucas Oil Stadium during the NFL combine. 

Beyond his speed, the athleticism displayed by Jamel Dean at the combine was so impressive that it placed him into a very elite category. How elite? Well, his relative athletic score (RAS) was the 12th best amongst any cornerback evaluated between 1987-2019.

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The context of Jamel Dean's athletic abilities (especially his speed) is important because if you're going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk. And Jamel recently took to Twitter to publicly offer up a vote of confidence in himself, and some of his speediest Buccaneer teammates.

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As of this moment, this tweet has generated almost 1000 retweets and over 7.2 million views. So to say it sparked a reaction would be a drastic understatement.

As you might expect, many of those reactions have come from fellow NFL players.

Darius Slay, Tyreek Hill, D.K. Metcalf, and a number of other players all jumped at the opportunity to defend their reputations. 

Tyreek Hill chose to not only respond to Slay, but to take a shot at the Eagles fanbase in the process.

DK Metcalf on the other hand, chose to take a more diplomatic approach, and simply stated a (predictable) answer to the hypothetical question. 

Many other NFL players chimed in on the discussion too. And to no one's surprise, each of them emphatically stated that their team would prevail if such a 4x100 race were to ever actually take place. 

The Buccaneers — despite often being criticized for not having enough speed — would absolutely be in the conversation. We can speculate who would represent the Bucs based on the players' respective 40-yard dash times, and when doing so, the lineup is pretty impressive. Jamel Dean (4.30), Devin White (4.42), Rachaad White (4.48), and Deven Thompkins (4.35) would absolutely have a shot in a league-wide, 4x100m relay.

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Hopefully, Jamel Dean's proposal makes it to Roger Goodell's desk before next year's Pro Bowl festivities are finalized.

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Collin Haalboom
COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.