Speedy Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams so fast 'I'd place' if I ran in the Olympics

Jameson Williams hasn't cracked the list of top 20 fastest plays in the NFL this season, but the second-year Detroit Lions receiver said his speed does make him the fastest man in the game.

"I know if I go to the Olympics, though, I’d place," Williams told the Free Press on Thursday. "One hundred (meters), 200, 400, any race."

Williams hit a top speed of 20.7 mph on his 19-yard touchdown run in last week's win over the New Orleans Saints, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats.

He took a reverse handoff from Kalif Raymond on the play, looped 12 yards in the backfield and turned on his afterburners as he split two pairs of Saints defenders before leaping into the end zone.

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He said his celebration was an attempt to fire up his teammates.

"I do it cause I really know some people on the team might get excited by it," he said. "It might bring the energy up for the next man. Next man might see that and be like, 'Yeah, let me go do something, just make a play or something.' So it’s really, like, energy-boosting for the team."

A high school track star who was considered the fastest player in the 2022 draft, Williams said he hasn't really had a chance to show his true speed in the NFL yet. In high school, he said he ran times of 10.5 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 21.2 seconds in the 200 meters.

"That was 16 years old," Williams said. "I’m 22 now. Even with getting hurt, tearing my ACL, messing up both of my hamstrings, I’ll still go place (in the Olympics)."

Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf has been clocked as the fastest ball carrier in the NFL this season, running 22.23 mph on a 73-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 30. Metcalf caught a short slant on third-and-8 and sprinted the final 50 or so yards to the end zone.

Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, considered by many the fastest player in the league, is the only other player to top 22 mph as a ball carrier this season and has five of the year's 20 fastest plays.

Williams said he was clocked as fast as 23.3 mph during practices at Alabama in 2021, and has been around 21.9 mph in the pros. Williams tore his ACL in his final college game, and missed time in the preseason with hamstring injuries in both legs.

"I’m waiting on the perfect play to showcase it," Williams said. "It’s not like I'm out there not trying to run fast. I'm running as fast as I can, but when I get the ball in space, I’ll open up for sure."

The Lions have started to incorporate Williams' speed into the offense in a variety of ways in recent weeks. He has been targeted on deep passes and bubble screens, and his carry Sunday was his first of the season and second of his career.

He also had a 40-yard run last season against the Chicago Bears.

Williams has reached at least 20 mph on four of his 16 career touches, the highest rate in the NFL since 2022, according to Next Gen Stats.

He mentioned Hill and Metcalf as two of the other fastest players in the NFL — Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III and New York Giants receiver Parris Campbell are the only other ball carriers to hit 20 mph since Williams has been in the league — but he said he's confident he's faster than both.

"A lot of people got like one stick and then they explode like 10, 5 yards from there," Williams said. "The main guy I see though is Tyreek Hill. You could tell by how fast his legs move when he’s running. I don’t really see that a lot.

"I feel like I’m faster. I feel like I’d get him. I just got to showcase it. When I get the ball in some space I’m going to show y’all, for sure."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams: I'd place if I ran in the Olympics