San Francisco 49ers vs. Oakland Raiders: Hyde vs. Murray

Carlos Hyde

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) before the game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Hyde was ranked as the number one running back coming out of college by NFLDraftScout.com. While he may have had the top ranking, he was the third running back off the board with the Titans taking Bishop Sankey, a running back out of Washington, at 54 and the Bengals selecting Jeremy Hill, a running back out of LSU, at 55 before Hyde was selected at 57.

While Hill might have been the cream of the crop from that draft class, Hyde had a pretty successful season as well. Over 14 games, Hyde managed 83 carries for 333 yards and 4 TDs. Being stuck behind a player the caliber of Gore, it’s impressive that Hyde was able to manage four TDs.

Live Feed

Raising Zona

Unlike Murray, Hyde was never named the starter at any point throughout the year. His highest attempts in a game came in week six against the Rams on Monday Night Football. In that game, Hyde saw 11 carries. Assuming Hyde got 11 carries all 14 games he appeared in, he would’ve had 154 carries. That total would’ve put him at 32nd in the NFL, right above Sankey.

Hyde averaged 4.o yards per carry, so he would’ve totaled 616 yards on the ground with his 154 carries. That number is far from remarkable, but with Hyde being the no doubt starter, he will get much more than 154 carries. His carries will most likely surpass 200, and he could fair quite well with a four yard per carry average. In fact, his 4.0 yard per carry ranked tied for 27th.

One place Hyde excels is breaking tackles. Accoring to FootballOutsiders.com, Hyde tied for 21st in the league with 21 broken tackles. Considering Hyde only had 82 carries, that total is quite impressive. Looking deeper, Hyde ranked fourth in the NFL with a 22.1% broken tackle per touch percentage. Hyde’s game is being a between the tackle bruiser, and that’s something he excels at.

Comparing Hyde to Murray, Murray actually finished dead last in the NFL with only 3 broken tackles and a 3.0% broken tackle percentage. That stat isn’t necessarily a dock on Murray, as Hyde cannot compare to Murray’s top notch speed, it is just a testament of how different a player each rusher is.

Much like Murray, Hyde is experiencing a coaching change. New head coach, Jim Tomsula, was brought in. He is a defensive minded coach as he was the team’s defensive line coach last year. Their offensive coordinator, Geep Chryst, has served as the team’s quarterbacks coach the past four seasons. Chryst has been an offensive coordinator twice before, formerly for the Chargers and the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football.

The team’s running backs coach Tom Ratham stayed in place, but overall it’ll be a new scheme for Hyde. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since the OC and HC are both brand new, they can somewhat bend their scheme to fit Hyde’s strengths.

As for the team’s offensive line, it will most likely be a weakness for the team in 2015. The team lost not only Davis but Mike Iupati in free agency. From left to right the projected offensive line is: LT Joe Staley, LG Alex Boone, C Daniel Kilgore, RG Marcus Martin, RT Erik Pears. The line combined has 312 games of experience and 261 starts. That is significantly less than the Raiders and with 114 of the starts coming from Staley it is worrisome.

Staley is a four time Pro Bowler and is one of the league’s best, but he cannot do it alone. The rest of the line must step up and prove they’re a NFL ready line. They get a pass due to Hyde’s tackle breaking ability, but if they cannot properly block for their running back, soon he will fail.

Hyde stands 6’0″ and weighs 230 pounds. That size resembles that of fellow bruiser, LeGarrette Blount of the Super Bowl winning New England Patriots. Hyde will count on his big frame and mauling ability to ascend up the ranks.

The 49ers already have one future hall of famer in Gore, it is very early, but Hyde is in the same mold and if he starts to produce as a starter then Niner Nation may be looking at Gore 2.0.

Next: And The Winner Is...