Jarryd Hayne
Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne (38) poses with an Australian flag after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi's Stadium. Reuters/Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jarryd Hayne could be an integral part of the San Francisco 49ers’ renewed offense under new head coach Chip Kelly for the 2016-2017 NFL regular season.

Hayne’s natural ability playing as running back in the NFL had not been fully utilised during his rookie season with the 49ers. The Australian rugby league star could suffer the same fate under the helms of Kelly, but according to Adam Jowett of Sports Illustrated’s Fansided, the 49ers should embrace Hayne as an integral part piece of the team’s offense.

“[Hayne] needs to be more effective in blocking techniques and understanding the vast nuances that go along with playing at the NFL level,” Jowett wrote. “But the natural skills are there. Hayne has talents and abilities that can’t be taught. And given how ineffective the 49ers offense was in 2015, they’ll need every bit of help from whatever source.”

The 28-year-old Hayne did not have much of a chance to showcase his full potential last season due to his inexperience in playing American football. His journey to an active role within the 49ers was also put on hold after Hayne was demoted to San Francisco’s practice roster.

But 49ers general manager Trent Baalke believes Hayne would have a huge offseason heading into the Aussie’s second year in NFL. Baalke cited the significance of a player’s second season and predicts Hayne will have another big preseason this year, equivalent to what the Aussie running back did last year when he took the NFL by storm.

“I think this off-season will be huge," Baalke said, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "They always say the biggest jump for a player is between year one and year two. We expect the same for Jarryd. He knows what it takes now, he knows what he needs to work on, and I know he is focused on working on those things this off-season."

Meanwhile, Hayne has been entangled in the salary cap drama of his former National Rugby League club. According to Stuff, confidential internal documents from the Parramatta Eels, where Hayne played before leaving for the NFL, show that the club’s board and senior executives have overseen a breach on the league’s salary cap rules by paying players’ third-party sponsors with corporate boxes.

The report also claimed that the Eels paid Hayne a hefty amount of money even after the Aussie running back had already joined the 49ers. There are no reported comments from Hayne yet, but his manager has denied the accusations.

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