Why JaMycal Hasty won’t be on 49ers roster come Week 1

Despite some flashes of promise, 49ers depth running back JaMycal Hasty is probably going to be the odd man out at a crowded position entering 2022.

Two years ago, I was admittedly bullish on San Francisco 49ers then-rookie running back JaMycal Hasty.

The undrafted free agent out of Baylor appeared to be the perfect scatback, a short but well-built player who’d be a tough tackle with his low center of gravity. Combine that with a demonstrated pass-catching ability out of the backfield, and it appeared as if the Niners had a unique weapon in the 5-foot-8, 205-pound rusher.

Two seasons later, though, it’s looking as if Hasty has potentially reached his peak.

Hasty, who was active for just 11 games his sophomore season, saw just a shade over 14 percent of San Francisco’s offensive snaps in 2021. Already watching his touches diminish in the wake of the 49ers adding running backs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon that year, the likelihood of Hasty sticking around for another season now seems grim.

JaMycal Hasty faces more 49ers competition with Jordan Mason

Mitchell and Sermon are all but guaranteed spots on the Niners’ 53-man roster in 2022, and the same goes for their latest NFL Draft addition, Tyrion Davis-Price, who was taken in Round 3.

That arguably leaves just one spot open on the regular-season roster, and it’ll likely come down to a battle between Hasty, Jeff Wilson Jr. and another undrafted free agent, Jordan Mason.

Mason, in particular, is a player to watch once training camp and the preseason roll around. While one shouldn’t read too deep into padless practices, the former Georgia Tech rusher impressed during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, and his ascent could seriously shake up what’s an awfully fluid back end of the running back depth chart.

As of now, it’s sure looking as if Mason’s stock value is higher than that of Hasty.

JaMycal Hasty needs to clean up his fumbling issues to stick around with 49ers

If there’s a goal Hasty needs to set for himself this summer ahead of the regular season, it needs to be cleaning up the fumbles.

Over the course of the last two years, Hasty has three fumbles on 85 touches. That’s a 3.5-percent fumble rate, which isn’t necessarily a doomsday stat line for bell-cow running backs. But to put things into contrast against Wilson, who also had fumbling issues early in his career, his fumble percentage of 1.8 is noticeably lower.

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Fans may recall how fumbles ultimately shoved former San Francisco running back Matt Breida, the team’s leading rusher in 2018, into head coach Kyle Shanahan’s proverbial doghouse the following year and ultimately off the roster in 2020.

Is the same fate already awaiting Hasty?

To avoid this, cleaning up the fumbling would be an excellent first step, but that might not be enough to overtake both Wilson and Mason to earn what’ll likely be the fourth and final spot on the 53-man roster.

It might be a tough break for Hasty, who displayed some promise during his rookie season. But that’s the reality of a fringe player on the back end of the depth chart.