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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 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