The NFL’s Next Gen Stats put tracking chips on players’ shoulder pads to measure things like how fast they run, and no one in the NFL runs faster with the ball in his hands than 49ers running back Matt Breida.
Breida hit 22.3 mph an 83-yard touchdown on Monday night against the Browns, making him the fastest ball carrier in the NFL this year, according to Next Gen Stats.
Last year Breida was also the fastest ball carrier in the NFL, hitting 22.09 mph on a 33-yard run against the Buccaneers.
Breida joined the 49ers as an undrafted rookie in 2017, and since then the 49ers have spent big money to acquire running backs Jerick McKinnon and Tevin Coleman. As it has turned out, Breida may be a better runner than either of them. And he may be a faster runner than anyone in the NFL.