SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- His surgically repaired left foot healed, running back Carlos Hyde could be key to what the San Francisco 49ers want to do offensively this season -- a point that coach Chip Kelly is becoming more convinced of with each passing day.

Six months after beginning rehab from the injury that forced him to miss the final games of the 2015 season, Hyde is back on the field looking more and more like the standout runner he was at Ohio State three years ago. Hyde is drawing glowing praise from Kelly and running backs coach Tom Rathman.

"You're looking for a guy who can be a three-down back and that's certainly what Carlos is," Chip Kelly said about Carlos Hyde. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Equally important as his running has been Hyde's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, a key element to the team's high-tempo offense and something Kelly pointed out during this week's mandatory minicamp.

"He's got really, really good hands," Kelly said Wednesday. "It's interesting from someone that size and that has that skillset as a guy coming out of the backfield. It's something we need to continue to build upon."

Hyde has 23 receptions in the 21 games he's played in since being drafted in the second round by San Francisco in 2014. By comparison, LeSean McCoy caught 52 passes for Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles offense in 2012.

It's a part of his own game that the 6-foot, 229-pound Hyde is looking to develop in his bid to be the 49ers' multi-threat weapon out of the backfield.

"I definitely think I'll be involved in the passing game a lot more this year, which I'm excited about," Hyde said. "I like playing receiver. Another opportunity to get out in space and get the ball in your hands."

Hyde is a bruising runner who would rather initiate contact with a defender than go out of bounds. "I'd rather run through you," he says with a grin. But the 49ers need him to stay healthy. He's the only running back on San Francisco's roster with more than 500 career rushing yards.

Journeymen backups Shaun Draughn (107 carries, 452 yards) and DuJuan Harris (151-527) have career numbers comparable to one another but have yet to show the ability to be the top back. The 49ers also have seldom-used Mike Davis, a fourth-round pick in 2015, and injured 2016 sixth-round pick Will Redmond (torn ACL) on the roster.

One of the four -- most likely Draughn at this point -- will emerge as Hyde's understudy.

Not that Kelly feels he needs one.

"I think our style and scheme adapts to whoever it is but I certainly think [Hyde] has the skillset to be an outstanding running back at this level," Kelly said. "He can do everything. You don't want the 'he's just a third-down back,' because that kind of diminishes what we can do with him on first and second down. You're looking for a guy who can be a three-down back and that's certainly what Carlos is."