Who’s the fastest player in the NFL? Tyreek Hill won’t say

Tyreek Hill took one look at the trap set in front of him and refused to take the bait. And with that, the Kansas City star wide receiver completely defused what could have been a controversial Super Bowl storyline.

If Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Scotty Miller wants to go around saying he’s the fastest player in the NFL and can take down Hill in a one-on-one race, good for him as far as Hill is concerned.

“I admire his confidence,” Hill said when it was relayed to him that Miller had told a national radio show that he’d bet on himself every day of the week in a race against anyone else in the NFL.

Hill included.

It should be noted that Hill is regarded as one of the fastest players in the league. His 4.28 40-yard dash at his Pro Day is a shade better than Miller’s 4.30.

Hill has torched the NFL over his first five seasons, including the 87-catch, 1,276-yard season he produced this year. That includes the seven receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter that he hung on Tampa Bay in the Chiefs’ 27-24 win in Week 12.

So in some ways, the much-less heralded Miller was tugging at Superman’s cape. He did so good-naturedly, but you can’t rule out the possibility of trying to rattle Hill a little bit either.

Hill didn’t bite.

In fact, he congratulated Miller on his confidence in himself.

“I feel like Scotty answered that question the right way,” Hill said. “I feel like, if somebody asked, ’Are you’re faster than Tyreek?’ your answer should be, ‘Yes! I’m that confident in myself that I’m faster than Tyreek.’ That’s any man; I don’t care who you are.”

But Hill also let Miller understand his graciousness should not be taken for fear. In fact, Hill had some ideas on how he and Miller might be able to settle Miller’s proclamation.

“Do I think he’s faster than me?” Hill pondered. “I don’t know. Maybe we can do something at halftime, someone line it up for us.”

As much as some national sponsor might welcome the chance to fund a Hill vs. Miller race during halftime of Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, that showdown will likely have to wait until the offseason.

For now, anyway, Hill has his sights on securing a second straight Super Bowl championship more than showing up some upstart in a head-to-head race.

The explosive Hill is one of the impressive weapons in the arsenal that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes taps into every week. Along with tight end Travis Kelce, they form one of the most powerful receiving tandems in pro football.

In fact, with Mahomes dealing with a painful turf toe injury two weeks ago in the AFC championship game, Hill and Kelce still combined for 22 catches for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

Kelce believes he and Hill can go down as one of the best tight end/wide receiver duos in NFL history.

“Without a doubt,” Kelce said. “It’s something that’s never been talked about between me and him, but we know what we’re both capable of and how much we feed off each other’s success.”

In the meantime, they are the first teammates to exceed 100 yards in receiving in two straight playoff games, with both also eclipsing that mark in the divisional playoff win over the Cleveland Browns.

A third straight 100-yard performance from Hill and Kelce will likely mean the Chiefs will beat Tampa Bay on Sunday, That is the goal this week.

Maybe after that, Hill will show Miller who is really the fastest player in the NFL.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.