Jarryd Hayne is a freak of an athlete. That’s no question, but will he succeed in the NFL? I hope so.
Hayne knows that he has a massive challenge ahead of him, he is at the bottom of the NFL mountain and it is no Kosciusko, Everest may only just come close to describing the challenge ahead of him.
Where would he play?
This will be an interesting decision for Hayne. The NFL is very stringent in assigning players top specific positions. Gone are the days when players will play both ways (i.e. offence and defence).
We can immediately rule out punter/kicker – the favoured position for Australian NFL converts. Hayne has a nice boot but he is not quitting the NRL in his prime to play in a position that is often (and unfairly) derided.
We can also put a line through offensive line, defensive line and full back – he’s not big enough.
Tight end? Apparently Willie Mason was once tested by the New York Jets and was told he would be best suited to tight end. But Hayne is too small.
Quarterback? No way
That leaves defensive back, line backer, wide receiver and running back. I would think defensive back and line-backer would be too complicated to pick up for Hayne at this late stage in his career.
He’s probably a little too small for line-backer. The same goes for wide receiver in terms of size and skill. That leaves us with running back, a position where Hayne can put to use his current skills of running, ball-handling and evasiveness.
Given we’ve settled on running back, let’s compare Hayne with current 2014 NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys. Murray has rushed for 785 yards, a lead of almost 250 yards over the next best running back (LeVeon Bell – Pittsburgh Steelers).
The similarities between Hayne and Murray are a little scary
• Born three days apart – Hayne 15/2/1988; Murray 12/2/1988
• Height – Hayne: 189cm, Murray: 183cm
• Weight – Hayne: 100kg, Murray: 98kg
Murray is a little more stout than Hayne, but it’s clear Hayne has the body type to be an NFL running back. But Murray has played gridiron since high school, Hayne has not, to my knowledge, played a serious snap of American football.
As mentioned by other Roarers the talent pool for the NFL is enormous. The development pathways and infrastructure are well ingrained through the high school and college systems. I’m sure that NFL teams would want a raw athletic freak, like Hayne, to have chosen American football earlier and progressed through these systems.
But, hey, best of luck to him, I genuinely hope he succeeds. I’ll sure enjoy following his journey from afar.
FantasyStats
Guest
If he just played some Mungo at Burgmann and swallowed some cement to harden up, you think he could've been a blocker Kian?
Joe
Guest
You guys are delusion A guy who's never played a snap in any legit level (college, pro) is gonna walk into the NFL where he is not going to have the athletic advantage over most of his opponents nor will he have any of the basic nuances required to play the game that are learned over playing 1000's of snaps in your teens thru college, etc & into the pro ranks. And you've got him playing RB,slot receiver etc? He is 26 will be 27 by next season so teams aren't gonna invest much time in a guy who's never played & is a few years away from 30 If he is playing RB does he have the ability to recognize blitz schemes on an audible pass play & then be able to actually block a 6-5 275 lb DE coming at him in order to protect his QB from getting sacked? Then theres the playbook itself. This is where he will struggle having never been exposed to even basic playcalling If his QB calls the play 'trips left 73 Reno halfback slow screen right' in the huddle then at line of scrimmage audibles out of that to 'west right tight,f left,372 y stick,z spot',as a RB he has to know this stuff, adjust in a split second THEN after that,still carry out his assignment on that play.Then do it all over again the next down. Thats an awful lot to ask of someone who has never played a snap of organized football.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
well said Nate, running back is not an option for Hayne. The only way I could see him getting reps at that position would be as a situational 3rd down back. BUT he would need to prove himself as a kick returner first and foremost. The first thing I'd love to see Hayne do is work with Don Beebe, former Bills and Packers receiver. He runs a sprint conditioning business and apparently is highly rated.
Nate
Guest
About the only place I can really see him getting a run is at kick/punt returner. For a running back you need to be able to read the defense to make your cut and that's not just dependent on you, but also your blockers and the play unfolding in front of you. I think he would struggle with that over guys who have been playing their whole lives. However, in a return capacity his open field running could be a real asset. Maybe Devin Hester MKII.
nung
Guest
My question is where is going to get the game experience needed for any position at an elite standard before the 2015 season? What NFL team is going to take the time to experiment and teach him how to play different positions in their reserve squads? I think the idea of an initial special teams spot with occasional plays as a running back is his best bet. Perhaps in a injury hit team that regularly runs dual back plays.
Kian Bone
Roar Rookie
I did think of Safety but concluded that it would be too complex for him to pick up at this late stage. On reflection, a specialist returner would suit Hayne - but would a team expend a roster spot on a specialist returner? Even Devon Hester has been required to take snaps as a WR3 throughout his career. Hayne would need to find a role to complement his returning abilities.
mushi
Guest
I fin it odd that it being a role where you "react" is seen as a plus when those reactions are based on an intimate understanding of the game and hundreds of thousands of full speed snaps. If he had grown up in the states and played as much american football as he had league then sure I'd think he'd have been a running QB and Small line backer/safety at high school and then chosen between safety/qb at college. But he didn't grow up in the US and so he doesn't have the knowledge base to play a role where he instinctively is asked to make the right call. They'd have to change the position name from Safety to Gamble
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Had some chats with a US mate of mine, who knows how Hayne plays, and we sort of agreed that Safety would probably be his best bet with him also playing a punt/kick returner role as well. Safety although a demanding position, is about reacting more than most positions allow.