The Jaguars released Carlos Hyde on Friday, an unsurprising end to his brief Jacksonville career. He signed with Kansas City on Saturday, but to me that's good news for fantasy appeal of Damien Williams -- Hyde won't be a threat to start. He's squarely in the veteran backup phase of his career, just another forgettable running back from a largely forgettable draft class.
Hyde was widely considered the best running back coming out of college in 2014, although he ended up being the 3rd one selected -- three picks after Bishop Sankey and two after Jeremy Hill. None of the three, though, were selected with top 50 picks, and the best backs in the class were selected a couple of rounds later.
| 2014 RUNNING BACK DRAFT CLASS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rd | Pk | Player | Result |
| 2 | 54 | Bishop Sankey, Tenn. | Bust |
| 2 | 55 | Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 1,000-yard rookie season with Cincinnati, but faded and replaced |
| 2 | 57 | Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 988 rushing yards and 9 TDs in year 3, otherwise a disappointment |
| 3 | 69 | Charles Sims, T.B. | Flashed as receiver, but ineffective runner |
| 3 | 75 | Tre Mason, St.L. | Promising rookie season, disappointed after that |
| 3 | 94 | Terrance West, Clev. | Some rookie production, and with Baltimore, but disappointed |
| 3 | 96 | Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | It's not over yet, but generally a disappointment |
| 3 | 97 | Dri Archer, Pitt. | Out of league |
| 4 | 103 | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | Hit. Back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2015-2016 |
| 4 | 113 | Andre Williams, NYG | Some rookie production |
| 4 | 117 | KaDeem Carey, Chi. | Out of league |
| 4 | 124 | DeAnthony Thomas, K.C. | lightly-used gadget player |
| 4 | 130 | James White, N.E. | top level 3rd-down back |
| 4 | 138 | Lorenzo Taliaferro, Balt. | Out of league |
| 6 | 181 | Alfred Blue, Hou. | backup |
| 6 | 186 | Lache Seastrunk, Wash. | Out of league |
| 6 | 201 | Marion Grice, S.D. | Out of league |
| 6 | 204 | Tyler Gaffney, Car. | Out of league |
| 6 | 211 | Jay Prosch, Hou. | Out of league |
| 7 | 222 | Storm Johnson, Jac. | Out of league |
| 7 | 227 | Kiero Small, Sea. | Out of league |
| 7 | 245 | Trey Millard, S.F. | Out of league |
Wouldn't be fair to call the later-round guys "busts," though that certainly applies to Sankey, and arguably Hyde. What's certain is the only really good backs to come out of the class were two that played in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago -- Devonta Freeman and James White. The rest will likely be forgotten.
Maybe Jerick McKinnon can be a star; the 49ers obviously believed he would when they signed him last offseason. But the on-field results aren't there yet, from him or any of the other backs in that class.
Hyde signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal with Kansas City, which is a little surprising -- virtually ensures he'll be the clear backup there. The way running backs get hurt, and produce in that offense, he could potentially come into some 2019 value. But that's true of a lot of backup running backs. A decent enough late-round flier (and potentially important for those who draft Williams), but that's about it.
--Andy Richardson