Jarryd Hayne has been thinking switching to NFL for some time now, but I’m convinced he’s chosen the right time to do it.
While 2009 was an outstanding year for Hayne, he’s come a long way since then.
The Hayne we saw in 2009 was freakish, unstoppable, agile and quick. Defenders just stood in awe, watching him speed past before they could stop him.
The Hayne we saw in 2014 was all this and more. He was strong, powerful, a leader and showed maturity. Defenders no longer stood around in awe watching him; they tried to stop him but found it very difficult due to his power.
The 2009 Hayne was a superstar; however the 2009 Hayne would not have made it in the NFL. He was an excellent playmaker, but this alone is not enough. The 2014 Hayne was the complete package. The 2014 Hayne was a damaging ball runner. This is what is needed to make in the NFL.
Hayne led the competition for tackle busts and line breaks. These skills are desirable for an NFL punt return or running back.
In the NFL, Hayne can’t run to the line and throw one of his trademark cut-out balls, which is what we saw from him in 2009. He needs to run hard and if he happens to come in contact with defenders, he needs to break tackles and get as many yards as he can. This is exactly what we saw from him in 2014.
NRL.com compared video footage of Jarryd Hayne and NFL star Reggie Bush. In the comparison, Jarryd came out as faster than Reggie Bush. This was put down to Bush wearing protective gear.
The one thing they didn’t take into account was that Hayne’s run was in the 76th minute of the game. They didn’t consider the fatigue he would have been under after playing for almost a full match.
On average, an NRL player runs close to 6 kilometres in a game, while an NFL player runs just over 2 with a lot of rest in between – a wide receiver only plays an average of 11 minutes per game. You could argue that the NFL running is more explosive but we shouldn’t forget that an NRL fullback does a lot of explosive running.
In short, if Hayne were to make a break in the first play of a game and you compared that run to Reggie Bush, you would find Hayne he is a lot faster. Hayne is also planning on losing some weight, which will no doubt make him faster and more agile.
It’s a tough road ahead for Jarryd Hayne, but if anyone can make it it’s him. After watching him in 2014, I don’t think there’s any position on the NRL field that he couldn’t play well – that’s how transferrable his skills are.
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