I am not going to lie; this was difficult for me, after losing Colin Kaepernick, as well as losing Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton, there were not a lot of players left to look forward to this year. Until a clip of Carlos Hyde came across my screen and realizing that, he was the majority of the San Francisco 49ers offensive production. After starting only 13 games, he had almost 1,000 yards rushing and was a huge asset catching the ball out of the backfield. Carlos Hyde will have a huge year this year, and a lot of it will be with the help of his “non-existent” supporting cast.
With a question mark at almost every position besides running back, you can expect a lot of one thing from the San Francisco 49ers this year, and that is Hyde getting a plethora of touches this year. While Brian Hoyer may be a seasoned veteran, he will understand that the majority of the Niners will focus around Hyde and the numerous amount of carries he will receive. While he will obtain big numbers this year running the ball, he will also become a huge sigh of relief allowing some open seams coming off a play-action pass. Not only that, but Hyde has done exceptionally well catching the ball out of the backfield and running up the field.
This year, Carlos Hyde will be the offensive spotlight for this team, or to sound a bit better, Hyde will be the quarterback of this offense. The Niners offense will revolve around how well Hyde is doing in that game. Last year Hyde had 217 touches for 988 yards and 6 touchdowns with only playing 13 games. I am not saying his numbers will double, but you can expect a HUGE increase, having potentially 1,500 yards of rushing and 14 touchdowns, with over 500 yards of receiving and three receiving touchdowns. Carlos Hyde will do big things for this offense, and while they still will unable to make a difference in the league, Hyde will make a name for himself this year.
Editor’s Note: This article can also be seen in our upcoming NFL Preview Edition.