San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
49ers’ Hasty ‘violent’ when it counts
COSTA MESA, Orange County — The last 49er to score a touchdown in a preseason game? Running back JaMycal Hasty. The last 49er to score a touchdown in a practice? Also Hasty.
Granted, those don’t qualify as monumental achievements. But it speaks to how Hasty has continued to show up this summer.
Hasty, a 5-foot-8, 205-pound jitterbug, has turned heads in training camp for the second straight year. And the 2020 undrafted free agent enters Sunday’s preseason game against the Chargers with a legitimate chance to make the 53-man roster, which appeared 49ers at L.A. Chargers, 4:30 p.m.
/ (810, 107.7) unlikely in the spring.
Last weekend, Hasty rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries. He lowered his shoulder for a rugged 4-yard touchdown run on one play in the preseason opener. On Friday, he grabbed a short touchdown pass from Trey Lance in team drills on the final snap of a joint practice with the Chargers.
Hasty’s quickness is his head-turning quality. But AllPro tight end George Kittle, who relishes blocking and physicality, sounded ready to make Hasty an honorary tight end Friday as he hailed his “energy” and “violence.”
“I love Hasty,” Kittle said. “He goes kind of into a dark place, and he just runs and runs, and he’s violent, he’s explosive. … His cuts that you guys see, he just jukes people out. But he still has this nice forward lean to him where he’s just always running through contact.
“He’s not the biggest guy and you look like, ‘Oh, he’s going to get blown up by a linebacker.’ But how he just dodges the big hit and bounces off, I love that. And he’s relentless, too. He’s a guy that he’ll take 10 reps in a row; he does not care: ‘Hey, just run 16 power and I’ll run it, I’ll
Niners running back JaMycal Hasty had 10 carries for 63 yards in the preseason opener, including a 4-yard touchdown burst.
Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. rejoices after hitting a two-run homer to lift the Giants to a comeback win in Oakland.
hit, I'll get right back up, and I'll run it again.' ”
It didn't appear Hasty would survive final cuts this summer after the 49ers drafted Trey Sermon in the third round and added Elijah Mitchell in the sixth. Those backs joined a group that included free-agent signee Wayne Gallman and holdovers Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostert, the 49ers' leading rushers in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
However, Wilson tore a knee ligament in May and Mitchell is sidelined for another week with a hip injury. It's possible that Hasty is fighting Gallman, a 2017 fourth-round pick, for a roster spot. Hasty is more electrifying than Gallman, but he understands his ability to handle blitz pickups and master the minutiae of the 49ers' scheme is what could determine his fate.
Hasty had 148 yards on 39 carries before his eight-game rookie season ended with a broken collarbone in November.
“I have a much better understanding of the offense,” Hasty said. “I understand what everyone is doing. The tight ends. The route concepts. Learning everything helps me play faster and be more comfortable than last season.”
Hasty will bear watching Sunday. And here's a look at four other 49ers to keep close tabs on against the Chargers:
OT Jaylon Moore: There would be a steep dropoff if the 49ers had to replace blue-chippers such as Kittle or inside linebacker Fred Warner. But their most irreplaceable player is probably $138 million left tackle Trent Williams, given his talent, the importance of his position and the options behind him.
The 49ers got a peek of what life without Williams would be like this week during two joint practices with the Chargers when the eight-time Pro Bowl selection was sidelined with knee swelling. His replacement was Moore, a rookie fifth-round pick from Western Michigan whom the 49ers planned to move to guard in the NFL. That plan was scutround tled when swing tackle Justin Skule tore his ACL in June.
Asked for his overall assessment of the offense's performance against the Chargers, Kittle, unprompted, mentioned Williams' absence.
“It's different when you have Trent Williams not in,” Kittle said. “And I think Jaylon did a great job. But Trent Williams is Trent Williams.”
If Moore holds up well Sunday in a starting role, he'd be the clear favorite to serve as the top backup tackle.
DT Kentavius Street:
Javon Kinlaw, last year's No. 14 pick, entered the NFL with knee issues, had knee surgery in the offseason, dealt with knee swelling before training camp and is now sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Anyone want to bet Kinlaw won't play all 17 regular-season games? The 49ers don't lack interior defensive line depth, but Street is an intriguing option to serve as Kinlaw's primary fill-in, if the need arises. The 2018 fourth-round pick's career has been stalled by a torn ACL he suffered in a pre-draft workout that required two follow-up surgeries, meaning he's spent most of his career rehabbing.
Street, 6-foot-2 and 287 pounds, has consistently flashed his explosiveness and strength in one-onone drills this summer. Based on his performance early in camp, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans thought Street merited recognition: Ryans told a member of the public-relations staff that Street should be one of the players the 49ers select each day to a speak to reporters.
At his media session, Street said his troublesome knee was no longer occupying his thoughts.
“It took me three years,” he said, “and I'm really savoring it.”
WR Richie James:
Lance's best pass in the preseason opener was his 80-yard touchdown throw. His second-best effort? It might have been his 3rd-and-8 sideline strike that clanged off James' hands.
It was a continuation of a rugged summer for James, a 2018 seventhget
Jaylon Moore is a backup to offensive tackle Trent Williams.
pick who has dropped at least five passes during trainingcamp practices. It was notable that in praising wide receiver Jauan Jennings' aggressiveness this past week, head coach Kyle Shanahan offered he thought “a lot of our receivers can learn from watching him.”
James has yet to seize his opportunity after the 49ers opened training camp hoping receivers would emerge behind starters Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Jennings, Mohamed Sanu and Trent Sherfield have done so, likely leaving room for just one more wideout on the 53-man roster.
CB Dontae Johnson: He ran with the first-team defense this past week against the Chargers with starter Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) sidelined, which is a sign that rookie draft picks Ambry Thomas (third round) and Deommodore Lenoir (fifth) will need a surge to move up the depth chart.
Johnson, 29, could maintain his No. 3 cornerback status with a strong starting performance Sunday. He's a journeyman who isn't the people's choice — fans would like to see what the rookies have to offer — but Johnson is valued for his ability to play competently outside and in the slot and contribute on special teams. Secondary coach Cory Undlin recently said Thomas and Lenoir have a long way to go,” which explains why the top backup, for the moment, is an eighthyear man the 49ers know well: Johnson leads all players on the roster in games played for the franchise (84).