The 49ers used the No. 88 pick in this year’s draft to pick running back Trey Sermon out of Ohio State. That comes as a surprise not because he wasn’t worth that choice, but because it was San Francisco making the pick.
When general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017, Shanahan took control during his first draft with the club to move up in Round 4 to take Utah running back Joe Williams 121st overall.
Williams never played a snap for the team and was let go during his second year.
The 49ers’ running backs after that were either cheap free agent signees or undrafted free agents. They didn’t use a single pick on the position over the next three drafts.
That changed Friday night when San Francisco once again picked an RB using the 121st pick. This time though that 121st selection was one of two picks they used to jump to No. 88 in the third round where they took Sermon.
He enters a running backs room headlined by Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., and will have a real opportunity to carve out a significant role in the 49ers’ backfield.
The bar he initially needs to clear is low. His first snap will make him a greater success than Williams was in the NFL, and that would be a nice change for the 49ers after their first foray into the running back draft class in four years.