SF 49ers: 4 players who’ll keep rest of 2020 interesting
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Running Back JaMycal Hasty
Two things can be equally true for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He rarely uses top NFL Draft capital on tailbacks, often finding hidden gems late in the draft or from the undrafted ranks.
Some of those runners can be successful, but not always all of them.
Case in point, the difference between the Niners’ 2017 selection of Utah’s Joe Williams in Round 4 of that year’s draft versus undrafted free-agent tailback Matt Breida. The latter spent three years with the SF 49ers, while Williams never saw regular-season action and is out of the NFL.
Now, the focus is on a 2020 UDFA, former Baylor running back JaMycal Hasty.
Hasty has no shortage of hype this season, and it’s not hard to find arguments supporting the idea he’s the next Breida-like player — that hidden-gem find who’ll inevitably find success in Shanahan’s system.
Yes, the bursts have been there. And his multicut abilities, combined with his short 5-foot-8 stature, make for the epitome of a scatback.
At the same time, though, Hasty is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and has shown fumbling tendencies, already being charged with one and just short of being tagged with another in Week 9.
For now, Hasty appears to be in some limbo between a potentially great find and someone who might only flash here and there, nothing more, making him a player worth watching down the stretch.