Fantasy Index

header banner img
OUR FANTASY BASEBALL MAGAZINE IS BACK! PRE-ORDER NOW
Win here.

Around the NFL

Carlos Hyde

Presumed backup could be on the outs -- again

So Nate Taylor of The Athletic doesn't see Carlos Hyde making Kansas City's 53-man roster. Hyde has caused some debate here over the past few months, with some thinking he was one of the better handcuffs, and others not confident he'd win the backup job. Right now, the naysayers look correct.

Hyde isn't a great receiver, which was always going to work against him in Kansas City's offense. And with the team having pulled Darwin Thompson out of Day 3 of the NFL Draft, they appear to have landed a potential handcuff with a lot more upside. As for Hyde, if he does get cut, that will be four teams in the last year and a half deciding he doesn't fit what they want to do. 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. By far the best backs in the class were selected from the fourth round on.

2014 RUNNING BACK DRAFT CLASS
RdPkPlayerResult
254Bishop Sankey, Tenn.Bust
255Jeremy Hill, Cin.1,000-yard rookie season with Cincinnati, but faded and replaced
257Carlos Hyde, S.F.988 rushing yards and 9 TDs in year 3, otherwise a disappointment
369Charles Sims, T.B.Flashed as receiver, but ineffective runner
375Tre Mason, St.L.Promising rookie season, disappointed after that
394Terrance West, Clev.Some rookie production, and with Baltimore, but disappointed
396Jerick McKinnon, Minn.It's not over yet, but generally a disappointment
397Dri Archer, Pitt.Out of league
4103Devonta Freeman, Atl.Hit. Back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2015-2016
4113Andre Williams, NYGSome rookie production
4117KaDeem Carey, Chi.Out of league
4124DeAnthony Thomas, K.C.lightly-used gadget player
4130James White, N.E.top level 3rd-down back
4138Lorenzo Taliaferro, Balt.Out of league
6181Alfred Blue, Hou.backup
6186Lache Seastrunk, Wash.Out of league
6201Marion Grice, S.D.Out of league
6204Tyler Gaffney, Car.Out of league
6211Jay Prosch, Hou.Out of league
7222Storm Johnson, Jac.Out of league
7227Kiero Small, Sea.Out of league
7245Trey Millard, S.F.Out of league

Wouldn't be fair to call the later-round guys who didn't do anything "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 faced each other in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago -- Devonta Freeman and James White. The rest will be forgotten.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index