Trey Sermon needs far more touches when 49ers face Texans

Trey Sermon is only in his sophomore campaign in the NFL, but the 49ers’ 2021 third-round pick is risking being buried on a loaded running back depth chart.

This might come as a shock to people reading this, but the San Francisco 49ers really love running the football.

The Niners boast a running back corps of Elijah Mitchell, Ty Davis-Price, Jeff Wilson, JaMycal Hasty, Jordan Mason and Trey Sermon.

Not all of these players will make the 53-man roster in 2022, and some will be buried on the depth chart.

Sermon in particular is in danger of that latter possibility, as he’s unlikely to be released as a recent third-round selection but he’s also well behind the pecking order.

Read More: These 49ers are lucky not to be in first wave of roster cuts

In the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Sermon had just six carries for only 11 yards at an unimpressive 1.8 yards per carry.

While he had the same amount of carries as Mason and one more than Hasty, Sermon had a lot fewer yards than the 30 and 36 yards, respectively. He didn’t take the opportunity to impress on the field, and he won’t have many chances before Week 1.

Week 2 was no better, with Sermon getting five carries for only 8 yards and a similar 1.6 YPC average against the Minnesota Vikings.

In short, so far, Sermon has had 11 carries for 19 yards this preseason. A horrible number any way you care to look at it.

49ers must use Trey Sermon in NFL preseason vs. Texans

Mitchell is the presumptive starter at running back, while Davis-Price will fill in as the short-yardage back for his rookie season. It’s not clear yet whether Wilson, Hasty or Mason will be the fourth running back chosen, but the latter has had a big preseason and has potential as a receiving back.

Sermon’s best chance to get to the field in regular-season action would be to serve as the main backup for Mitchell. Head coach Kyle Shanahan loves to utilize all of his running back corps, so Sermon should see some playing time regardless.

But this last preseason game against the Houston Texans presents a big test for Sermon. He’ll certainly receive some carries in this exhibition finale despite the starters getting some snaps for what amounts to a dress rehearsal before Week 1, but he’ll need to find some more yardage in the game for Shanahan to trust him with a bigger role in the offense.

The Texans present a turning point for Sermon. If he wants to be trusted with a bigger role in the team, he needs to find the yardage that the other running backs are getting on the field.

If he doesn’t, he may find himself being repeatedly lost in the shuffle and barely sighted on the field.

It’s too early to call Sermon a bust, but he’s in a situation where he could fast be approaching that.