Despite Long Odds, Jarryd Hayne Has Ideal Roster Opportunity with 49ers

The gem-finding mission to turn athletes into football players isn’t new for NFL talent hunters.

Surely there was a time when the notion of a basketball player excelling at tight end seemed ridiculous. Now that hard court to hard hits journey is commonplace, with Antonio Gates cruising toward a Hall of Fame end to his career, and we can’t get through a New Orleans Saints game without being reminded of Jimmy Graham’s hoop roots.

If there’s enough raw athletic Play-Doh to be molded, the NFL will find you. Sometimes the football machine spits out a shiny treasure from an unlikely source. More often, though, the attempt ends in an athlete churned to bits and returning back to his natural craft in defeat.

Failure with prospects who double as projects isn’t feared. Gates and so many others who came before and after are lottery tickets, overflowing with potential and low on risk. The latest such prospect faces long odds and a steeper learning curve than most. But he also comes with even more intrigue.

Let’s meet Jarryd Hayne then, the former National Rugby League superstar who signed with the San Francisco 49ers Monday, landing in an ideal spot to pursue his NFL aspirations.

Where exactly does Hayne fall on the football skill spectrum? NFL Network analyst and former scout Daniel Jeremiah watched all of the highlights he’s plastered around the Internet (a highly recommended way to spend 11 minutes of your time), and he came to this rather optimistic conclusion.

Note his use of the word “excellent."

Also note his use of the word “chance," because that’s all Hayne has right now. In this order: a chance to learn the game of football from professional coaches, a chance to prove himself, a chance to make a roster, a chance to make a contribution and a chance to open the door to a new NFL prospect frontier.

But Hayne’s chances come sprinkled with at least a dash of rosy thinking that can be seen beyond what trained tape analysts like Jeremiah are observing. It has appeared in monetary form, too.

The 49ers gave Hayne a futures contract, which sounds like an opportunity for discounted intergalactic space travel that we'll pounce on centuries from now (“Honey, we can go to Jupiter in 5015 if we jump on futures contracts RIGHT NOW!”).

In football parlance, a futures contract is essentially an invitation for a tryout. Any player who isn’t on an active roster after Week 17 of any season is eligible for a futures contract. The appeal and benefit is that a futures contract doesn’t count against the salary cap until the new league year begins. Hence the term “futures," with NFL teams typically using them as a way to collect long-shot prospects who are then included on the 90-man training camp roster and have an opportunity to develop throughout the offseason (for a deeper dive into the curious rabbit hole of futures contracts, I direct you to Ty Schalter’s thorough work).

Back to the dollars, and how little of them are given to most futures contract prospects. Or at least those who aren’t named Jarryd Hayne.

Players signed to those noodles-thrown-at-a-wall contracts are typically given the league minimum and a tiny signing bonus (or none at all). Hayne? The 49ers gave him $100,000 guaranteed, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.

For most NFL players, that might pay for appetizers. But as Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports notes, it takes a rare talent to be worth that amount of guaranteed money, especially when the athlete in question has been on this planet for 27 years without taking a single snap in any competitive football game.

Hayne may be arguably the most talented player to attempt the treacherous rugby-football bridge crossing. But he’s not the first, as although the link between the two sports is in its infancy, there’s a growing connection. Carlin Isles similarly signed a futures contract with the Detroit Lions in 2013 and couldn’t stick, eventually deciding to play rugby sevens instead.

So why is Hayne different as a prospect? And why does he deserve that tidy chunk of guaranteed cash? It could be as simple as familiarity, and trusting a coaching connection.

Teams don’t take even a reaching, dreaming chance on a player without some faith in their potential to fit in, either now or after they’re developed further. In Hayne, the 49ers see what everyone else sees—a lumbering brute who stands 6’2” and weighs 226 pounds—in addition to an added element: an inherent understanding with new head coach Jim Tomsula.

Prior to returning stateside, Tomsula spent nine years bouncing around NFL Europe. That’s given him experience dealing with athletes who may not be as gifted as Hayne, but often their football background was similar in that it barely existed.

That appealed to Hayne, just as it did to 49ers defensive end Lawrence Okoye, an Olympian (discus) and rugby player who was also reeled in by Tomsula in 2013. Earlier this offseason Okoye was re-signed to his own futures contract, one that adds perspective to the guaranteed money given to Hayne. At the time it was one of the largest reserve/futures contracts of 2015, according to The Big Lead’s Brian McIntyre:

Beyond familiarity, the appeal for both Hayne and the 49ers lies in a mutual need.

Hayne clearly wants an opportunity to not only be on a roster in some capacity, but also stay there. His skill set includes a 40-yard dash time of 4.53 seconds during a workout for NFL scouts, a blend of speed and power at his size that’s earned him National Rugby League Player of the Year honors twice. Had Hayne participated in the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, he would have been tied for the eighth-fastest 40-yard dash time among running backs.

He’s ideally suited for one of two roles (or both?): running back and kick returner. The 49ers could be preparing to part with veteran running back and franchise icon Frank Gore when free agency begins, and Kendall Hunter is still recovering from a torn ACL. If Gore departs, there will be a need for backfield depth.

However, Hayne may slide in more naturally as a returner. That would utilize the dual threat of his speed and power, while allowing him to focus on what he does best: running through would-be tacklers, or leaving them flailing (whichever comes first.)

Being a returner also offers football’s closest imitation to a rugby setting, placing Hayne in a natural environment. It’s another area where the 49ers could use a spark, too. In 2014 they finished 29th in punt return average (6.5 yards).

But a climb immediately to returning kicks isn’t realistic, and like any player on the roster bubble, Hayne will be left to do the grunt work of special teams coverage. That means learning how to rush the punt and then fall back to block for the return, skills taken for granted because they become muscle memory for those who play special teams effectively.

Tim Dwight, the former NFL receiver and returner who’s helped to train Hayne, was optimistic when speaking with ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein, saying those skills should be instinctive.

He also outlined another firmly embedded instinct: offense.

“We were trying to look at what positions he would play on the field, either offensively or defensively,” Dwight said. “Rugby, especially being a forward, you’re pretty much an offensive-minded guy.”

Hayne’s limitations aren’t physical; instead, they’re internal. He’s an athlete in his prime who will need to relearn how to apply his physical tools within the framework of a new field. The mental hurdles—like processing the blocking assignments and developing holes as a ball-carrier, or the proper timing needed to run a route—will present the greatest challenge.

“I think if he’s dedicated, he could speed up the process,” Isles told Rothstein, speaking from experience. “But for him, who never played football and to understand the defensive schemes, to understand the holes, the footwork, things like that, it’s going to take some time.”

Hayne has been given time, along with comfort through Tomsula, and a potential fit in San Francisco should he become an unearthed gem. Conquering long odds now rests with his ability to adapt and learn.