I applaud NRL superstar Jarryd Hayne on departing the league and his beloved Parramatta Eels in pursuit of his dream despite vast riches on the table.
Although Hayne was about to become the highest paid player in the NRL, the dual Dally M Player of the Year winner told a packed press conference that it was the challenge of breaking into America’s game he valued more.
With no contract – despite rumours Hayne had joined reining Super Bowl Champions Seattle Seahawks – Hayne will head to the US as a free agent.
If Hayne realises his dream, what position will he play?
Hayne could slot into multiple positions on an NFL roster – including running back, wide receiver and punt/kick returner.
However, I see Hayne being a member of a team’s defensive unit, as a cornerback.
NFL cornerbacks need to be agile and quick, have great instincts for the game, specifically how to cover, read and adjust. They also need to be able to tackle and be physical. The cornerback’s effectiveness greatly influence the success of the overall defence.
At 6’2” and 100 kilograms, Jarryd Hayne has the size. He is one of the NRL’s most talented and intelligent players. The Bleacher Report’s NFL writer Matt Miller, broke down how scouts analyse NFL cornerback prospects.
I have broken down Hayne’s skill set into a range of different areas: speed and burst, instincts, agility and technique, size and tackling.
Speed and burst
“The job of a cornerback depends on numerous traits and characteristics, but in my book, no one trait is as important as speed.”
“The wide receiver explodes off the line of scrimmage into his route, and the cornerback must be quick enough to turn and run with the receiver.”
“That leaves our cornerback tasked with changing direction and accelerating to catch up to the receiver. Having elite speed makes the difference between allowing a catch, breaking up a pass and getting to the ball before the receiver for an interception.”
Instincts
“Richard Sherman excels at reading and reacting to the wide receiver and the quarterback. Throughout the regular season, he was thrown at 87 times but allowed just 41 catches thanks to his ability to see the route and respond without delay. That ability to go from seeing it to processing it to reacting is what makes Sherman an elite NFL cornerback.”
Agility and Technique
“A pro-level cornerback must be agile enough to turn his hips and run with receivers when they make cuts in their routes. You’ll hear this called “flipping his hips,” and it’s genuinely a player’s ability to go from a backpedal to a run at an angle.”
“Outside of agility for flipping your hips, being a great cornerback means having the quick feet to change direction. That can mean transitioning from a backpedal and coming up to stop the run or being asked to run through a double move in a route. Quick feet are in my top five most important traits for any cornerback – along with speed, instincts, change-of-direction skills and tackling.”
“It is always important to remember that technique can be taught, and for almost every player, there will be refinements made by NFL coaches after the draft. A big, strong, fast cornerback can be coached up in terms of technique and hand use.”
Size
“At 6’3″ and 88 kgs, Sherman is part of a new breed of cornerback being valued in the NFL.”
“A look around the NFL today shows that the best cornerbacks are often the biggest ones, as they are better equipped to take on the Calvin Johnson’s and Julio Joneses of the NFL.
“To combat a 6’5” wide receiver, you need a cornerback bigger than 5’10.”
Tackling
“Tackling in the NFL has become a lost art form, but there are still those cornerbacks who aren’t afraid to come up and take on the run or single-handedly pull down a wide receiver in the open field.”
“Tackling will never be a top-of-the-list trait for cornerbacks, but you can bet that I’m taking the better tackler every time two players ground out close to one another.”
That’s what a true expert had to say, anyway.
Good luck Jarryd. The biggest challenge for Hayne isn’t just understanding the game and adapting. His biggest hurdle will be winning a position on the roster ahead of the highly talented Americans that have grown up playing the game.
Fatafehi
Guest
"His far superior endurance to NFL players could save a team money by playing kick return AND WR in the one team." Players have always done that. It's normal, even now.
OJP
Guest
isn't the point of having a comments section so that people can make comments ?
ChrisLove
Guest
Hayne is that freakish i will be very suprised if he can't make a starting side. A moneyball style coach could save some serious money in signing Hayne. Starting off as a kick returner then as he develops as a Wide Reciever or Running back. His far superior endurance to NFL players could save a team money by playing kick return AND WR in the one team.
OJP
Guest
cant speak for others, but I would love for him to succeed - why wouldn't you cheer for a bloke chasing his dream ? I think a significant difference in the cases is that some perceived KH and Izzy's moves to AFL as money grabs and not 'for the love of the game' and possibly also 'costing otherwise deserving AFL rookies spots on rosters etc'. For KH / Izzy their code switches were for a personal challenge for sure, but one with a regular (fat) pay check attached to it. Jarryd's NFL attempt does not appear to be the same thing -its costing him money - there is no deal 'on foot'. All that being said, I think it will be a very tough ask for him and respectfully Cameron, I would be gob smacked if Jarryd ends up playing CB... consider me an armchair corporal. The complexity of the coverage requirements is mind boggling at first and they regularly switch coverage's on the fly. Very few CB's play 'man' coverage all the time where your one and only responsibility is to stop the guy across from you catching the ball.... maybe Sherman, Revis, Patterson, Talib, Haden... I'm sure I'm missing some others, apologies to them.
joe b
Guest
Whilst some might be bitter, I think most would like to see him succeed. AFL was to aerobic for Hunt and Folau...massive endurance required compared to the rugbies. We all know they were marketing signings for the two new clubs... I hoped they might have been better, but it did actually show how hard it is to cross codes (league and union at least have similarities). With all the various specialty roles in NFL there might be one he could adjust to, but I imagine that a defensive role is harder to adapt to without a really strong knowledge of plays, which comes with time.
Luke
Guest
As a long time NFL fan, I just can't see him having the feel for the game to be able to play anywhere in the defence (given he is not big enough to play on the defensive line as a blocker), let alone as a cornerback! If i was the opposition offensive coach, I would target him relentlessly as I just don't feel he would be able to read the offence given his lack of american football experience. For mine he suits in the special teams as a punt returner, or backup running back given his transferable evasive skills from NRL. Cant see him being the fullback, as it is quite a defensive position and see him misreading the defence and letting a blitz through or missing blocks. Hopefully he makes a roster next year, but you have to respect him for having the balls to give it a go!
Tom
Guest
He is too big and unlikely to be agile enough to be a cornerback - notice that he has a good 15kg on Richard Sherman. If anything, he will be looking to put on weight due to the reduced aerobic demands of the sport compared to NRL. If he were to play defence, which I think is unlikely, he is a good size for a strong safety, or he could bulk up a bit and play linebacker.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
Cheers @Turnover.
Silver Sovereign
Guest
Hayne will take 2 years to learn the game and then will be 30. he will struggle
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
We will have to wait and see and in my opinion, cease being armchair generals.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
Chris - We all know how good Hayne is and I wish him all the best. As an NFL fan, I want him to make it and do well. If you go through my 96 articles, this is the only one with a large chunk coming from a respected columnist on NFL. I used his information and thoughts from a lengthy article to highlight the position to those who are new to NFL or don't follow the sport. Calm down ... I wanted to toss up a left-field thought of a position he could play and I employed the thoughts of a respected writer and made note of that in the article. Cheers.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
We will all have to sit back and watch, cease being the commentators and see how the he goes. I wish Jarryd all the very best. Who knows ... he may get into training camp, flourish and take to the sport extremely well. It's disappointing reading ample articles headlined 'why he won't make it.' Hayne is an elite athlete and who are we to say he won't make it.
Bomb78
Guest
Cameron - I posted on another Roar article a couple of days ago making the case for Hayne at CB. Whilst it was always his attacking raids that made the highlight reel, his real strength in recent seasons has been ion defense. His ability to read the game in defense has improved as he has matured as a player. If he can transition those skills to the NFL as a defensive back, his insufficient speed from a standing start - vital for a wide receiver or running back – won’t be so much of a problem. We've all sat back watching the NFL and thought ‘wouldn't you like to just once see some hard head league or union player belt these preening, thoroughbred ponies wide receiver’s.’ We know Hayne can tackle. Maybe we’ll get to see him nail some of those mofo’s soon.
Simmo
Roar Rookie
I can't see Hayne being able to drop back in coverage and shadow receivers. Whether he man to man or in zone coverage, I don't see him being able to cover anything complex the offence dishes up like screen plays, read options, qb pump fakes, receiver double moves, etc.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
Hayne would be greatly suited to a PR/KR position however I endeavoured to take a left field view and look at him against the CB position and those stars in the role.
Turnover
Roar Guru
Settle down. I hadn't seen the other article and I for one am quite glad Cameron posted this.
Bomb78
Guest
Plenty in the uninformed masses making comments about Hayne's athletic ability this week need to realise that the NFL scoops up the absolute cream of athletic ability from the enormous US college system. Hayne's athletic ability will not stand out in the NFL! 10.3 seconds is seriously fast. You'd probably find a kid in almost every high school in Australia going close to an 11.2 (I know I ran some 11.5's 20 years ago and couldn't make my school's relay team). If he is to succeed it will be down to his instincts, but those have been conditioned in a different game. I wish him well. I hope he makes it. But I think it'll take a small miracle.
Sam Rigney
Expert
I have to agree. I'm a bit confused, where is the breakdown of how Hayne matches up in these key areas for a cornerback? It reads more like you are breaking down Richard Sherman. I clicked on the link and the most important character trait that you didn't mention is "knowing your coverages". Hayne will absolutely not be a cornerback. Just because he's an athlete and physically similar to players in that position doesn't mean he can play in the NFL. He would get lost out there on defense and no team is going to trust him covering anybody.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
The majority it seems want him to succeed, he is giving up a hell of a lot to chase something that will be extremely difficult to achieve. As for the article, Cameron I think any defensive position is fantasy. Kick Returner / special teams / slot receiver at a reach.
Winston
Guest
Can I ask Roarers what is their opinion on all of this? I'm coming from the perspective of the average AFL fan looking at Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau - everyone wanted them to fail. Do people generally want Hayne to fail or succeed in the NFL?