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Token American answers: Hayne's most likely playing positions

Roar Rookie
21st October, 2014
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Jarryd Hayne struggles to get past Queensland defenders (AAP)
Roar Rookie
21st October, 2014
2

Tp pursue his dream of playing in the NFL, Jarryd Hayne will have to find a niche where he can excel.

Hayne may have excelled in many aspects of rugby league but American football is a more specialised sport, with specific positions and duties for each of the 11 players each team sends to the field at any time.

While he is most likely to play on special teams, he might make his way onto offence in a few years. Defence is unlikely.

As many others have noted, including former rugby union-to-NFL player Hayden Smith, Hayne’s inexperience with football’s set systems – the mental aspect – is the biggest concern. Different positions, though, require different amounts of knowledge.

Defense
Being a regular defender is Hayne’s least likely outcome, because reading and reacting to other teams requires serious experience and skill.

A defensive player must not only know his team’s formations but also predict and react to the offensive team.

Hayne knows how to tackle, but he is too small to play on the front defensive line, and he doesn’t have the speed to play cornerback (the one-on-one defenders against wide receivers).

Linebackers roam the middle of the defensive field, so inexperienced players are taken advantage of, especially now when offences are using a great number of inside slants and picks with their receivers.

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Offense
Many have suggested potential roles for Hayne are wide receiver, tight end, or primary running back. His likeliest position is secondary running back.

Although Hayne’s training will likely include catching hundreds of NFL balls, wide receivers are usually the fastest players on the team and are becoming increasingly taller than Hayne.

Becoming a tight end (hybrids between blocking linemen and wide receivers) would require more experience and knowledge of his team’s formations and ways to react to opponents. Starting on the line of scrimmage, tight ends need to react immediately.

Traditionally, teams have used a ‘two-back set’ – a primary running back (a tailback) and secondary running back (fullback).

Tailbacks, such as Hayne’s friend Reggie Bush, are workhorses who have 20 or more carries per game and lead the league in rushing.

An NFL fullback mostly blocks for the tailback, protects the quarterback, runs in short situations such as at the goal-line, and can be a receiver for short passes.

Hayne is slower and heavier than many elite tailbacks, but his size puts him already in range to be an NFL fullback. Bulking up will only help for this position.

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The multiple skills required for being an NFL fullback – blocking, running and receiving short passes – actually lend themselves to Hayne’s strength as an all-round player.

Further, many NFL teams are actually moving away from the ‘two-back set’, employing multiple running backs, who each have different strengths for different situations.

Special teams
With Hayne’s experience as an NRL fullback, the most direct and easy to transfer skill-set is that of a kick returner. This may encourage a team to sign him, have him contribute immediately, and give him time to learn another positions.

Other than kickers, special teams players are usually second- or third-string players, so even though he can tackle in the open field (play special teams defence), this skill would be marginal in getting him onto a team.

However, if a team picks him up to be a kick returner, they may use him for defending kicks as a bonus.

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