Kareem Hunt Fits the Mould to Partner 49ers RB Carlos Hyde

The 49ers have shown interest in Kareem Hunt and would be wise to look at taking him on day two, rather than reaching for Leonard Fournette at pick two.

As draft season nears its conclusion, plenty of players on NFL teams may be fearing for their jobs as franchises get set to re-stock their roster. For the 49ers, Carlos Hyde is one such player whose status may be in some jeopardy.

Leonard Fournette, seen by many as a generational talent at running back, has been a named linked with the 49ers, who — per Tony Pauline of draftanalyst.com — are reportedly ready to give up on Hyde.

The reasoning for moving on from Hyde would be that he has never completed a 16-game season because of injury problems.

But Hyde remains an outstanding talent at tailback, boasting hugely impressive elusiveness for a man of his size, and had the best season of his career in 2016, falling just 12 yards of short his first 1,000-yard campaign due to a knee injury that kept him out of the regular season finale.

With that in mind, the approach the 49ers should take to the running back position in the draft is to find a player who can complement Hyde and, along with Tim Hightower, take some of his snaps, potentially helping him avoid further injuries in the process.

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Hyde is your typical power back who has the added bonus of being surprisingly good at making players miss. As such, it would be best to pair him with a back whose game is based around change-of-direction quickness and can make an impact in the passing game — an area where Hyde has not had much influence.

And the 49ers are this week scheduled to meet with one such back, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein (h/t Niners Nation) reporting they are set to bring Toledo’s Kareem Hunt for an official visit.

Hunt is blessed with an excellent combination of agility and power. He can quickly spot and burst through cutback lanes and make defenders miss almost at will with his athletic ability.

Not afraid of contact, Hunt bounces off tackles on a consistent basis and also contributes in the passing game, making 41 receptions in 2016 as part of production that saw him rack up 5500 yards and 45 touchdowns over four seasons.

Showing good awareness in pass protection, Hunt — despite concern over his lack of a second gear and consistency in finishing his runs — deserves to be high on the 49ers’ running back radar. However, he is not the only runner of that style that they should be looking at.

Alvin Kamara is a name even the most casual of draft observers should now be familiar given the hype he has received, which is well earned.

Kamara boasts many of the same qualities as Hunt in how he evades and bounces off tacklers. He demonstrates patience to wait behind his blockers, and hits the hole with arguably the best burst in the draft when he spots a crease.

His speed gives him big-play ability in both the run and the passing game, with the knocks on him being his durability and ball security, which is a problem that has also blighted Marlon Mack.

Mack had 12 fumbles over three seasons but remains one of the more exciting running backs in the draft having become South Florida’s all-time yardage leader, showing the breakaway speed to take it the distance from anywhere on the field and the ability to change direction subtly on his way to achieving that feat.

If the Niners are more focused on a back who will impact the passing game, then Curtis Samuel is a player that needs to be high on their board.

Samuel was lined up in the backfield, in the slot and out wide during his time at Ohio State, averaging 7.9 yards per carry and 11.5 yards per catch as he racked up 1636 yards and 15 touchdowns from scrimmage last season.

Though Hyde is unlikely to want to give up too many carries, he may be more receptive to sharing time in the backfield with a fellow former Buckeye.

Next: 2017 NFL Draft: ESPN’s Todd McShay Says Quarterback is 49ers’ Biggest Need

But any of Hunt, Kamara, Mack and Samuel — who will all likely go outside the first round — fit the mould of what San Francisco should be looking for and taking one of them to complement Hyde is better value than potentially selecting Fournette at No. 2 in order to move on from him.

Collegiate statistics courtesy of Sports Reference.