It took just four weeks for Jarryd Hayne to transition from the NRL's top dog to the NFL's best pre-season performer, admitting his efforts have been "above and beyond" anything he could have expected.

The former Parramatta superstar, who looks certain to have cemented his spot on the 53-man roster with another five-star showing against San Diego on Thursday night, confirmed his status as the story of the pro-football pre-season by finishing as the player with the most average yards per rush in the NFL.

In his first four games, Hayne averaged more rushing yards (25 carries to qualify) than any player in the 32 franchises, and finished second in average punt return yardage.

Granted, most of the sport's premiere athletes received limited game time during the four pre-season games, but that doesn't take away from the magnitude of what the 27-year-old from Australia has been able to produce in his rookie season.

Hayne, who will learn his fate by Sunday 6am AEST, finished the pre-season with 175 yards from 25 carries (seven yards per carry), narrowly behind Detroit Lions' Zach Zenner who amassed 183 yards from 35 carries, but still much greater than Zenner's 5.2 yards per carry.

Only Minnesota's Stefon Diggs pipped Hayne in punt return yardage, finishing with a 21.7 yard average from 10 carries compared to Hayne's 18.1 yard average from nine carries.

While Hayne has worked overtime to give himself a chance of making the 49ers' final roster, even he admits his pre-season efforts were more than he imagined.

"I've been pleased to see what I've done," he said. "It's been exciting, been a journey. I'm just as excited as anyone to get out there on Levi's Stadium in front of the fans and run around, catch passes and make runs.

"It's been great. It's such a life-filled journey. It's been a great experience and I wouldn't change it for the world. Everything's been above and beyond anything I could have expected."

Hayne, who was buoyed by the arrival of his mother, Jodie, and two sisters on the eve of the match against the Chargers at Levi's Stadium, has a nervous 24-hour wait ahead of him as the 49ers look to settle on their roster.

While it's unlikely Hayne won't get picked up by another NFL franchise if the 49ers opt not to select him, Hayne insists he hasn't even thought of a plan B.

"Not really. The future is always exciting when you don't know what's going to happen," he said.

"The family is over now. We have one more session tomorrow and then it's going to be family time. Whatever happens, happens. I don't control the future. If I can't control it, I try not to worry about it."

Hayne finished the match with the most rushing yards of anyone on the field, racking up 58 yards from 10 carries, which was also the highest yards per carry in the match.

He also picked up 17 receiving yards from two catches, adding to his first career reception against the Broncos last week.

The former Parramatta Eels fullback had three chances at punt return and yielded an average of 14 yards.

San Francisco quarterback Dylan Thompson said: "I think Jarryd's a really good athlete".

"Humble guy. Really likeable guy. Obviously on the field people see what he can do. He's not who he is for nothing. He made a lot of plays in rugby and that's a different game, but when you get a ball in your hands, making people miss, he's really good at that. Yeah, he's talented."

NFL PRESEASON STATS LEADERS

Rushing Leaders        Rushes    Yards    Average
Zach Zenner (DET)        35           183          5.2
Jarryd Hayne (SF)        25            175          7.0
Thomas Rawls (SEA)     30            158          5.3
*Minimum 25 rushes to qualify

Punt Returner             Returns    Yards    Average
Kenjon Barner (PHI)       13            223        17.2
Stefon Diggs (MIN)         10            217        21.7
Jarryd Hayne (SF)            9            163        18.1
*Minimum 5 returns to qualify