Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Should Jarryd Hayne's presence preclude 49ers from drafting a running back?

The San Francisco 49ers' track record in drafting a running back -- they’ve done it eight times in the past 10 years -- would suggest they might do it again next week, right?

Well ...

The Niners already have a three-headed rushing attack in second-year player Carlos Hyde, veteran free agent Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter, who is coming back after missing last year with a torn ACL.

Plus, you can make a case that the Niners have already “drafted” a running back in signing Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne, who is more project than prospect. Still, the Niners are more than intrigued with what Hayne could potentially bring to the team and the league.

“We’ll see,” general manager Trent Baalke said recently. “That’s going to be a work in progress. But as an athlete, very talented. All you have to do is pull up the YouTube video to watch some of the stuff he does athetically.

“Now, can he go out on an NFL field and learn the pass protections? He can catch a football as well as most people you’ve seen doing it their whole lives, because that’s the game over there.”

But surely, Hayne’s learning aptitude, no matter how great it might be, will not have him lining up in the offensive backfield as a rookie, should he make the active roster. His ticket to playing time is special teams, no?

Hayne, though, is in the same predicament as every other 49ers offensive player this offseason in terms of picking up verbiage and learning a new system under new offensive coordinator Geep Chryst.

“He can field punts extremely well,” Baalke said of Hayne. “He can certainly field kickoffs and he can run down and cover people on the coverage teams. How quickly he can transfer those physical skills into the game of football, we’re going to find out.”

Which makes the Niners drafting a running back for the ninth time in 11 years unlikely.

Here's the list of running backs the Niners have drafted the last 10 years, half coming in the first three rounds.

Frank Gore (2005, third round), Thomas Clayton (2007, sixth round), Glen Coffee (2009, third round), Boobie Dixon (2010, sixth round), Hunter (2011, fourth round), LaMichael James (2012, second round), Marcus Lattimore (2013, fourth round) and Hyde (2014, second round). Only Hunter and Hyde remain with the 49ers.

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