If I had told you that Carlos Hyde would make a list about players to be concerned about after his massive week one performance you likely would have told me I was losing my mind. Yet here we are three weeks later and Hyde hasn't found the endzone or had more than 51 yards in a game since then.
After his 168-yard, two-touchdown day against the Vikings, the narrative surrounding Hyde was that he was poised to breakout into a top-10 fantasy running back going forward. Now that he's come back down to earth, I think his value has settled right around to where it was in the pre-season. He's not going to be a top-10 guy but he's still a usable RB2 any given week. With so many running backs banged up and struggling, at least we know for a fact that Hyde is "the guy" in San Francisco.
The problem with Hyde isn't his usage or talent; it's that the San Francisco 49ers simply aren't good. There are going to be weeks where the team is able to run the ball effectively, allowing for Hyde to have a big game and put up fantasy points. But there are also going to be weeks, like the three we just saw, where the team can't get anything going offensively. You don't need to bench, trade, or cut Carlos Hyde, you just need to temper your expectations. His value has simply been reset is all.