Many have doubted Trey Sermon and his role with the 49ers In 2022, mainly because the running back's role was limited in 2021. Sermon finished his rookie campaign with 167 rushing yards on 41 carries. He scored one touchdown and averaged 4.1 yards a carry while forcing eight missed tackles and had three explosive runs of ten-or-more yards.
Sermon's breakout game was during Week 4 against Seattle, where he rushed for 89 yards on 17 attempts. However, his role was limited in 2021 due to the impressive performance of 2021's sixth-round draft pick, Elijah Mitchell.
In Tuesday's presser, head coach Kyle Shanahan was questioned about Sermon, a player selected three rounds ahead of Mitchell.
"He has done everything he can," Shanahan responded. "I mean, the guy was just—look, haven't seen him yet, but watching him in OTAs, and he was as yoked up as he could be. He was in as shape as he could be. Like you could tell the guy learned from his rookie year and wants to do a lot more. And so that's the starting of it. And I can't wait 'til we get the pads on and to watch him and a number of the other guys play."
It appears that Shanahan has high hopes for Sermon, but the running back room is overflowing with talent after the addition of this year's third-round draft pick, Tyrion Davis-Price. We won't fully know if Sermon is ready to take on a bigger role until the pads come on and Shanahan and running backs coach Anthony Lynn get a complete evaluation. Will there be room for Sermon on this roster? Will the fans get a Sermon on Sundays?
The 49ers hit the field for the first training camp practice today at 10:25 a.m. PT.