The 49ers have been one of the NFL's top rushing offenses over the past few seasons, and chose to add a talented tailback in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, selecting Ohio State product Trey Sermon.
Bleacher Report NFL analyst Aqib Talib believes Sermon creates a "three-headed monster" in the 49ers' backfield.
"I absolutely love Wayne Gallman, so I think he's going to be trying to be the starter, it's going to be the hot hand, a couple of them weeks Wayne Gallman going to have the hot hand, so he's going to play a lot, man. Three-headed monster in the backfield for San Fran, I absolutely love the pick," Talib said Friday.
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Sermon joins a running back room with Gallman, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. under contract for 2021.Tevin Coleman signed with the New York Jets this offseason, while Jerick McKinnon elected to join the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers added another tailback in the sixth round of the draft, selecting Louisiana’s Elijah Mitchell with the 194th pick.
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Playing three seasons at Oklahoma before going to Ohio State, Sermon is quite familiar with playing around and against NFL-caliber talent. Sermon also holds the Buckeyes' single-game rushing record, as he went off for 331 yards against Northwestern.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback Trey Lance being the 49ers' choice with the third overall pick could indicate plans for coach Kyle Shanahan to adjust his offensive schemes given Lance's top-line speed.
Sermon likely will get a healthy amount of touches in his rookie season, especially if the 49ers run into injuries at the position.