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Three-time Super Bowl winner Riki Ellison is reserving judgment on Jarryd Hayne until the Australian feels the full force of the NFL’s best players.
Ex-NRL star Hayne is looking increasingly likely to secure a spot on the San Francisco 49ers 53-man roster for the upcoming NFL season after some encouraging pre-season displays.
But New Zealander Ellison, who won three championships in seven years with the 49ers in the 1980s, believes Hayne’s biggest challenges are still to come.
“I’d be cautious a little bit,” Ellison told Brisbane’s Triple M Grill Team.
“He’s doing great at the special team part of the game which is the kick off return and the punt return … it’s been exciting to watch him move – he moves a little different than American football players – he’s got a grace to him, but you’ve got to remember this is pre-season.
“He hasn’t played against the number ones and he hasn’t been hit hard yet. That’s a big deal.
“He’s a rookie and he’s going to be a rookie for this whole year, you know 18 games of big-time physical hitting, much more than State of Origin I would say at this level, so we have to see how he develops in that position.”
Ellison said Hayne looked good enough to make a roster but there would still be doubts about his game awareness due to his lack of experience in the sport.
“He’s got some great moves, he’s good enough I believe to make the roster as a return specialist, but he’s going to have to sustain some pretty heavy contact which he has not done yet,” Ellison said.
If Hayne is successful in making the 49ers roster he’ll take on Ellison’s son Rhett in the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
“He’s on the special teams so he will be trying to tackle your boy there,” Ellison said.
“It will be like a Bledisloe match.”
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