49ers Rumored to Be Ready to Give Up on Carlos Hyde

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly "ready to give up on" running back Carlos Hyde, a 2014 second-round draft pick, after three years with the organization.

Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst reported Tuesday the Niners have considered using the No. 2 overall pick on LSU rusher Leonard Fournette to take Hyde's place in the offense.

It's a surprising tidbit given the fact Hyde is coming off his best NFL season. The 26-year-old Ohio State product rushed for 988 yards and six touchdowns across 13 games. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which ranked 11th in the league among qualified rushers.

In February, former 49ers running backs coach Tom Rathman, who worked with Hyde during his first three years, told Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area there's still work to do, but progress was being made.

"He's moving in the right direction," Rathman said. "He still has some growing to do as a football player to get to the level of player that everybody wants to be. He's got the capability of doing it. He's a work in progress."

Hyde also owns a reasonable $1.17 million cap hit for the 2017 season before potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent after the campaign, per Spotrac.

All those factors suggest the rumored Fournette interest could be a smokescreen. The Niners have bigger needs than running back right now, led by question marks at quarterback, linebacker and along the offensive line, so moving down could be of interest to the new regime.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports previously noted the LSU superstar was even in play for the Cleveland Browns with the top overall selection. The Browns also have bigger issues than the backfield, led by trying to finally land a franchise QB.

This feels like a situation where those teams with high picks are floating interest in all the top prospects in order to potentially create trade demand.

For the 49ers, cutting Hyde loose to draft Fournette in a league currently dominated by high-powered passing games doesn't seem like a step in the right direction.

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