Months and months of the “Jarryd Hayne to the NFL” speculation has come to a bizarre end with him being the first person, I believe, in NFL history to have a press conference to announce he has the chance to trial for a spot on a 53 man roster
Hayne has signed a reserves/futures contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Futures contracts are often minimum salary deals with little or no signing bonus.
Lawrence Okoye, the former British Olympian and now teammate of Hayne, has only just secured guaranteed money($68,405 fully guaranteed and $18,405 of which is a signing bonus) on a futures contract after spending two previous seasons on the 49ers practice squad developing.
Hayne said in his press conference he signed a guaranteed $100,000 dollar contract, which would be a very rare deal for reserves contracts. Currently the only one higher is Running Back Ryan Williams on $240K with the Dallas Cowboys.
So what is in store for Jarryd in the next few months as he tries to turn the opportunity very few receive into something more solid?
1. Private Workouts:
Now that he is officially part of a roster he can start learning the ins and outs of the playbook. This is the great unknown about Hayne, we all know about his athletic skills and abilities but it will mean absolutely nothing if he can’t pick up blocking assignments and schemes.
Hayne won’t be able to do any football activities with the team until the offseason program begins in April.
Private workouts for players see them return to their hometown or former college and you often see them practicing with some team mates and players from other teams that play the same position.
2. Organised Team Activities (OTAs) and Mini Camps:
From April 6, clubs with new head coaches, which is the case for the 49ers with new head coach Jim Tomsula, may begin offseason workout programs. The 49ers reported for offseason workouts on April 21st last year under Jim Harbaugh. They get an extra week this year due to a new head coach.
New coach Tomsula will operate differently compared with Jim Harbaugh so we may see Hayne at a voluntary mini-camp in April.
A rookie mini-camp is usually a three to five day camp held in the first or second week after the draft in May each year varying on the team’s preference.
The camp is geared towards getting all the new players accustomed to the playing schemes and give coaches a chance to see how well the new players have learnt the playbook.
Often a head coach will ask some veteran players to attend mini-camp but it mostly for the rookies and younger players. The mini-camp are not full contact drills and plays are conducted in t-shirts and shorts, not pads.
Most teams then have various OTA’s (fancy Collective Bargaining Agreement term for light team training with no contact or pads) after the NFL Draft and Rookie Mini Camp throughout the month of May and June.
Most players do partake in them but there are often holdouts over contracts by some unhappy players (and their agents) like Vernon Davis last season.
In 2014 the 49ers held OTA’s on five different occasions, mostly one or two days in length, in May and June before wrapping up this portion of the off season by holding a mandatory mini-camp in the middle of June.
After that, the team will have get around a month and a half off before everybody returns for training camp in July.
3. Training Camp:
Last season the 49ers had their training camp at the SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara California.
The rookies reported on the 16th of July and the first practice was held on the 24th of July. Training camp concluded with a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens on August 11.
For those who have watched HBO’s Hard Knocks (if you haven’t, I highly recommend it) you will know how physically tough and gruelling training camp is.
You only need to watch the Bengals performing the Oklahoma Drill in 2013’s Hard Knocks to see how demanding it is. Training camp is also when tough decisions get made on cutting players to make the final roster.
We all know of Hayne’s physical attributes and abilities but this is the camp where we will find out whether Hayne has mastered the playbook and mental aspect of the game. Team beat writers are analysing camp on a daily basis and they know when a player is struggling or thriving.
4. Preseason:
The preseason will be the biggest test for Hayne and one that he can really make his mark on. It is one thing to have a solid training camp but putting it together in certain game situations will show coaches he has a full grasp on the scheme, routes, plays and blocking assignments.
A solid preseason doesn’t guarantee Hayne anything; we have seen former SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam have a fantastic preseason only to find himself cut from the Rams roster just a week before kick-off. The preseason schedule will be released in April.
So what position will Hayne be competing for during all these activities and preseason? Hayne has been told by the 49ers that they see him as running back and an option in the return game.
Running Back
The 49ers are traditionally a ground and pound team because of the success that Frank Gore has had in the NFL. Gore is one of the 49ers all-time greats at the position but currently finds himself a free agent.
Various rumours about his future have been circulating for weeks with some suggesting he will join the Indianapolis Colts meanwhile others suggest that Tomsula intends on re-signing the back.
Regardless of whether he is there or not it is a tough ask for Hayne to leapfrog young stud Carlos Hyde and ole faithful Kendall Hunter on the depth chart.
Hyde was 57th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and showed glimpses of his talent when used effectively in the redzone his rookie year. In his limited touches Hyde finished with four touchdowns and averaged four yards a carry.
Kendall Hunter missed all of 2014 after tearing his ACL in training camp but that didn’t stop the 49ers from resigning him on a one year deal. Hunter has been in the scheme and knows the play book back to front. He has averaged 4.6 yards a carry as a 49er. Also on the 49ers roster is Kendall Gaskins a 2013 undrafted free agent, Gaskins has yet to appear in a regular-season game. He averaged 3.6 yards on 29 preseason carries in 2014.
What works well in Hayne’s favour is the fact that these running backs aren’t renowned for their pass catching ability. Hayne may, the key word here is may, find himself a niche role in this offense. Pass catching backs are important in the NFL especially on third downs, you only have to look at Darren Sproles and Roy Helu.
All of this could all change however depending on the outcome of the 2015 NFL Draft which is absolutely stacked at running back.
If Gore leaves the franchise, they could look for answers in the later rounds as insurance for Carlos Hyde but expect Hyde and Hunter to be the one, two punch for the 49ers in 2015.
Kick/Punt Return
One benefit of joining San Francisco over Detroit is the role in the return game. Jeremy Ross has been a solid contributor for the Lions for two consecutive seasons and is a factor in their passing game. It would have been near impossible to dethrone him.
The 49ers used ten different players to return kicks or punts in the 2014. Of those ten, rookie wide receiver Bruce Ellington eventually made the position his own finishing with a PFF grade of +2.8 ranking him 18thin the league.
He averaged 25.6 yards on kick returns and 8.2 yards on punt returns. Ellington is currently a top of the depth chart in the wide receiver two position which may change if 49ers resign Michael Crabtree. It does look likely that Ellington will feature prominently in the passing game as the slot receiver with the 49ers asking Stevie Johnson to take a pay cut or he will be released. Ellington’s important in the passing game means coaches may be reluctant to use him in the return game.
This is the perfect chance for someone like Hayne to make an impact in training camp and preseason. San Francisco did not have a return for a touchdown last season, if Hayne can break one loose eyebrows will be raised.
Also standing in Hayne’s way is five foot five Trindon Holliday an NFL journeyman who is seen by many as a kick return specialist. He is on a $660,000 contract with the 49ers in 2015. He was signed late last year and returned three kick offs at an average of 27.7 yards a return.
While there are certainly question marks at the position for the 49ers coaching staff it is definitely Ellington’s job to lose and Hayne’s to win (albeit over Holliday). This is his best chance of making the 53 man roster. It might not happen right away but we have seen kick and punt returners lose jobs at the drop of a hat, I mean ball.
Conclusion
Let me start by saying that I am a Jarryd Hayne fan.
We hail from the same post code, I support the team he won two Dally M Medals with, I’ve met Jarryd Hayne when he attended a charity event in Campbelltown. I am a believer in Hayne’s ability and his incredible motivation to succeed in the NFL.
I am, however, a huge NFL follower and I know that this task is a monumental one and one where I think the odds are stacked highly against him.
His age and lack of American football experience make it mighty tough to beat out people who have done this since they were approximately eight-years-old.
I think Hayne will show flashes of his brilliance in training camp but the circumstances that are present in San Francisco means he won’t make the final roster.
I do think he may serve a season on the practice squad similar to what teammate Lawrence Okoye has done. As a Jarryd Hayne fan and someone who wants to see this sport grow down under I hope my prediction is 100% incorrect.
When will we know for sure? The rosters are cut from 90 to 75 on August 25 and from 75 to 53 on August 29. Now begins the months of speculating and some extremely hot takes.
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