Generally speaking, the fastest Vikings competition begins and ends with CB2 Isaiah Rodgers. Very few, if any, are capable of outrunning the defensive back.
Rolling into 2026, the Minnesota Vikings have made a concerted effort to get younger, larger, and speedier. There’s therefore an open question: does anybody who got brought to town offer better speed than Rodgers? If so, of what significance is that to the upcoming games, if any at all?
The Fastest Viking Competition
CB Isaiah Rodgers, RB Demond Claiborne, and Others
Start off with who isn’t going to win the speed crown.
None of the new large lads are going to claim the top spot. Some of the new guys may end up being the strongest — Domonique Orange, perhaps, or the supremely talented Caleb Banks — but being a top-tier athlete in the trenches isn’t the same as at a skill position. Getting below a 5.0 forty is a notable benchmark for a lineman — Garrett Bradbury, for instance, ran a very impressive 4.92 — but not the sort of time that will take down Isaiah Rodgers.
So, too, does somebody like Jake Golday look like an elegant mover. Recently, I described Golday as being a mix of Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks since he’s both long (Barr) and explosive (Kendricks). Still, he’s a long way off as somebody who ran a 4.62.
Where things get more fascinating is when considering the corners, safeties, running backs, and receivers.
Dillon Bell is generating hype but only got clocked at a 4.50. Good, but not earth-shattering stuff. Charles Demmings is very explosive, running a 4.41. If memory serves, Demmings wasn’t at 100% during the NFL Combine, so he’s a contender for being the top speed demon in the Twin Cities, albeit as an underdog.
Note, as well, the presence of running back Demond Claiborne. Aaron Jones raised some eyebrows recently by describing the newcomer’s speed as being similar to that of the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs. Claiborne’s time is a sizzling 4.37. Overcoming Rodgers would require sitting in the 4.3-range, a forty time that raises eyebrows in the NFL.
Look around online and there’s word of Isaiah Rodgers boasting speed so elite he stands in truly unique territory. On the team website, Rob Kleifield describes the eye-popping Rodgers effort while overseas during the 2025 season: “During [D.K.] Metcalf’s 80-yard catch-and-run TD in Dublin, Rodgers reached a max speed of 23.32 MPH, which is the fastest by any player in the Next Gen Stats registry (since 2017).”
Rodgers, 28, doesn’t appear to have lost a step. His speed is so formidable that he very likely maintains the top spot as Minnesota’s fastest player. And, to be sure, he’s among the truly elite players in the NFL as a whole when it comes to speed.
After all, there was a reason why Matt Daniels originally wanted the CB to become the kickoff returner last season. In the end, Myles Price (fast but more quick and elusive) alongside Tai Felton (track star speed but not quite Rodgers) were the kickoff returners. Maybe Rodgers can get sprinkled in a time or two in 2026.
For Vikings football more broadly, it’s at least some notable that adding Demond Claiborne, Chuck Demmings, and even Kyler Murray offers an infusion of speed that could help Minnesota to become dangerous on Sunday.
Unless something unforeseen happens, though, Isaiah Rodgers will continue chewing up yards in a way that is untouched.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.