1.03 San Diego Slewage - RB Carlos Hyde

In the real world: A few years ago, Kendall Hunter was a possible heir apparent to Frank Gore. Two years ago, I thought LaMichael James would be that heir apparent. Last year, others had a dream that Marcus Lattimore would relegate both Hunter and James to lesser roles (third-down back and kick returner, respectively). Lattimore is reportedly still struggling in his attempt to return from the terrible knee injury he suffered in 2012 (ACL/MCL/PCL). Now along comes Hyde, who may be the most talented RB this year's draft has to offer. A powerful runner who has been compared to another ex-Buckeye from days gone by (Eddie George), he ran for 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

In the TUFF world: Here, Todd Hansen turns his attention to his team's real #1 weakness: the running back corps, which is as bad as what Carolina had six years ago (the 2004 and 2005 Chicago Blaze RBs come to mind as well). San Diego's best RBs in 2013 were Reshard Mendenhall and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, both of whom had crappy YPC averages. Mendenhall has since retired. Assuming Hyde performs well--and I see no reason why he won't--he could replace the 31-year-old Gore as soon as next year.  Todd had a choice to make--Hyde's talent and long-term job situation vs. Sankey's short-term, clearer job situation.  He probably made a good choice, but no one will know for sure until Gore is finished.