Why does Nick Sirianni keep singling out running back Trey Sermon?

He does it every time.

Every single time.

Ask Nick Sirianni about the Eagles’ deep running back room and he’ll mention Kenny Gainwell, D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny and Boston Scott.

And he’ll also mention Trey Sermon.

Every time.

For example Thursday:

“I'm really pleased with the new guys, D’Andre and Rashaad,” Sirianni said. “Kenny and Boston have been productive the last two years and have made a lot of plays for us the past two years not only in the season, but in the playoffs.

“Then I can't say enough about Trey.”

Why would Sirianni include a guy who got two rushing attempts all last year?

Because this genuinely is a five-man competition, and the Eagles are going to give Sermon every opportunity to win a roster spot.

“We were really excited to get him last year,” Sirianni said. “He was able to get some game reps (and) we really liked him in practice. …

“When guys get drafted, sometimes you bang the table and are, like, ‘Shoot, you know, you can't get everybody,’ so we were really excited to get him when we got him last year.”

Sermon was a beast in college. He had a big sophomore year at Oklahoma – 947 rushing yards, a 5.8 average and 13 TDs – before finishing at Ohio State, where he ran for 870 yards with a 7.5 average as a senior in 2020.

His 6.5 average from 2017 through 2020 was seventh-highest in the BCS, just below Swift's 6.6.

The 49ers selected the 6-foot, 215-pound Sermon in the third round in 2021 – he was the fourth running back taken – but after he rushed for 167 yards and a 4.1 average in nine games, they cut him last summer. The Eagles claimed him and kept him on the 53-man roster all year, although he was buried behind Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenny Gainwell and only played eight snaps all year.

“He was in a deep running back group last year,” Sirianni said. “When he was in and had plays, opportunities, we thought he did a good job.

“That's what you guys saw. That's what we saw. But we (also) saw it every day in practice. Just the consistency, the athleticism, his quickness, his physicality. He's a big, good-looking guy, and we really value that style of running that he has, and we saw that every day.”

Sermon got two snaps in Week 4 against the Jaguars and ran for eight and nine yards, which was impressive but obviously a very limited body of work. He got a few reps the next week in Arizona and never got on the field again.

But the Eagles kept him on the roster, protecting him from the waiver wire, which tells you how they feel about him.

There are four running back roster spots available and five backs getting first-team reps in training camp. Another former Oklahoma back, Kennedy Brooks, is also in camp.

Gainwell and Swift are roster locks, which means Penny, Scott and Sermon are likely competing for two jobs.

There are no big salaries in the mix, which means it's going to come down to who shows the Eagles the most in camp, joint practices and preseason games.

“You're just looking for different things that they can do,” Sirianni said. “You always adapt to what your players do well, but also, there are some things that you want to be able to run. You want to be like, ‘All right, who can do this job well and who can do this job well and who can do this job well?’ Sometimes it's the same person throughout and sometimes it's by committee.

“We'll see how it plays out. We're still learning some of the new guys. … Again, we're treating practice just like we treat a game. So we're going to see what we need to see in practice, and (Sermon) showed a lot to us last year.”

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