49ers: 5 players who needed 2020 preseason to make 53-man roster
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: 49ers running back JaMycal Hasty
Among all the undrafted free agents the Niners grabbed this offseason, few have generated as much buzz as former Baylor running back JaMycal Hasty.
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Hasty’s abilities to be a third-down scatback are promising enough, especially if he capitalizes on some playmaking abilities as a receiver, which he did at the college level. But the problem for Hasty is twofold. First, San Francisco already has a crowded running back room with Jerick McKinnon, Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert all serving as reliable pass-catching options. Second, Hasty’s development time needed to master Kyle Shanahan’s offense has been largely abbreviated.
Simply put, going up against one’s own defensive schemes day in and day out is nowhere near the kind of challenges a rookie runner would face against the varying schemes of other teams.
In all likelihood, Shanahan is going to go with what he knows on the ground, and that doesn’t include Hasty.
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At least there’s a strong chance for Hasty’s development on the practice squad.