Chad Johnson challenges Tyreek Hill to race on Twitter
By Matt Conner
Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson decided he would challenge Tyreek Hill to a race on Twitter without knowing he’s not nearly fast enough.
There’s no denying that Chad Johnson (or Ochocinco) was always a stellar athlete. During his playing days in the National Football League, the wide receiver was respected league-wide for his athleticism and productivity. There is a good reason he can point to his resume and claim six Pro Bowl appearances and 3 First-Team All-Pro awards.
Even today, Johnson remains in great shape despite not playing a single official down in the NFL since 2011 with the New England Patriots. The longtime Cincinnati Bengals great clearly stays in shape, as illustrated by a workout video recently posted on Twitter.
In fact, it was this video from earlier this week that started the whole thing. Check this out:
That’s very impressive. A man in his forties his 20 miles per hour on a treadmill. I am in my forties and I could not do that. I never hit 20 miles per hour in my teens or twenties for that matter. The person who posted this video, Daniel Klahr, is some sort of strength and conditioning coach and tagged Chad Johnson in his own video. The former wideout took it from there.
It’s here Johnson calls out Tyreek Hill, the man typically referred to as the fastest in the NFL and a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. Hill often gets called out in the same way that any hopeful contender will call out a heavyweight champion in boxing in hopes of earning a shot himself. It’s just the way things work.
Unfortunately for Johnson, we’re not sure he’s done the math. Running on a treadmill in workout clothes is one thing, but Hill has been doing all of his running in pads, helmet and the like—several extra pounds of NFL equipment while dodging opposing tacklers back and forth.
Even more, Hill has bested that 20 miles per hour speed by a wide margin. We’re not talking percentage points, here. Instead, Hill turned two of the 10 fastest times on an NFL field this year and both were well over 20.0—21.95 (during a 58-yard touchdown reception in Week 1 against the Chargers) and 21.78 (during a 91-yard punt return in the same game).
Hill did the same thing in 2017 with two of the 10 fastest times in the NFL, again hovering around the same range of 21.5 to 22.0 m.p.h. As a rookie, Hill turned in the two fastest times recorded all season overall and even cranked one run up to 23.24 m.p.h.—a total that remains the fastest over the last three years, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
In other words, you could line up Chad Johnson and Tyreek Hill for a footrace and Hill would still win even if you put defenders in his path and loaded him with an official NFL uniform—safety equipment and all.
Or maybe these two just have a great repartee going on. After all, Hill tipped his hat, so to speak, to Johnson whenever he climbed behind a camera for CBS Sports after a touchdown. Chiefs fans will no doubt remember this memorable moment:
Johnson was the first player to celebrate in such a way (and was a player who was one of the most memorable end zone characters in NFL history).
Then again, maybe Johnson just likes to challenge fast people to races that will never happen for one reason or another. Here’s a challenge to gold medal-winning sprinter Justin Gatlin.
As for the ultimate challenge, Johnson has things covered there, too.