MANKATO, Minn. -- For all of the elite wideouts George Stewart has coached during his career -- Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Percy Harvin among them -- the Minnesota Vikings' wide receivers coach maintains he's never had a group with as much speed as the one he's currently coaching.

"We've got some guys that can flat run," Stewart said. "We're very blessed with speed. Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen, Cordarrelle Patterson, C.J. [Charles Johnson]. It's probably the fastest [group I've had]. Mike Wallace -- explosive. I knew he was fast. But when you get a chance to be with him every day, he's real fast."

Mike Wallace is the only wide receiver on Minnesota's roster to have more than 50 catches in a season. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Wallace's name is frequently mentioned among the fastest players in the NFL, and he clocked a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in 2009, but the Vikings' speed goes well beyond him. Wright and Patterson both ran the 40 in 4.42 seconds at the combine, and rookie Stefon Diggs ran a 4.46. As Division II products, Johnson and Thielen didn't run at the combine, but were clocked at 4.38 and 4.45 seconds at their pro days, respectively. The average pre-draft 40 time of those six receivers -- the ones most likely to make the Vikings' roster -- was 4.41 seconds.

"I have a hard time comparing players and comparing groups, but the one thing, I think we can put together a pretty good relay team with this group," offensive coordinator Norv Turner said. "They all run awfully well."

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the average 40 time for the past 10 wide receiver draft classes has never been better than 4.47 seconds, and has only been below 4.5 seconds five times. Even when subtracting Johnson and Thielen's times, using only the times clocked at the combine -- and adding Ryan Whalen, who ran a 4.57 40 -- the Vikings have an average time of 4.44, which is better than any draft class in the last 10 years.

Few NFL metrics are discussed as heavily as 40 times, and Stewart will be the first to caution that straight-line speed means little if it isn't used effectively on the field. But Johnson and Wallace -- who appear likely to be the Vikings' top two receivers -- know how to hurt defensive backs with their speed, Stewart said.

"Mike Wallace has great-play speed," Stewart said. "He's not a one-trick pony. I think I've read that comment from so many people -- 'He's a one-trick pony.' That pony's got a lot of tricks."

As a whole, the Vikings' receiver group carries an air of uncertainty. Wallace is the only one in the group who has posted a 50-catch season in the NFL, and it remains to be seen whether Patterson will ever realize the full potential the Vikings saw in him during the 2013 draft. But the template is there for the Vikings to build a dangerous passing game.

"Terrell [Owens] was a long speed guy. Jerry [Rice] was very smooth. Tai Streets, very smooth. But they weren't burners," Stewart said. "These guys can run. I've been here nine years. This is the fastest group of receivers I've ever had that can play football."