Gold Standard Podcast: What does the Gallman signing tell us about the 49ers’ roster construction?

You don’t go through a hellscape of a season like 2020 without ending up with a few scars. By the end of the year, fans could see the toll the blizzard of injuries had taken on Kyle Shanahan written all over his face. The signing of Wayne Gallman is a signal that Kyle and John Lynch are assuming nothing this year and bulking up every position, regardless of how well-stocked they think it might be.

Despite the presence of Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty, and Austin Walter, we kept seeing reports about the 49ers’ interest in free-agent running backs this offseason. The Gallman signing clearly illustrates the accuracy of those reports. The 49ers were intent on adding another running back this offseason. Why, though, when it seems any running back can thrive in the Shanahan system?

Because last year cannot happen again.

I’m not sure Kyle Shanahan can physically survive another season watching starters go down week after week after week, and he’s doing everything he can to make sure he has the players at every position to make it through 17 games. If Raheem stays healthy, great, but if he goes down again, Wilson is there. If Wilson goes down again, Gallman is there. If Gallman goes down again, Hasty is there.

Especially after his third 10+ loss season in four years. Especially after giving up two additional first-round picks beyond this year. Especially knowing he’s going to start a rookie quarterback (and yes, he is going to start a rookie quarterback). Considering how much f last year’s injury-prone squad is coming back, Kyle knows he must have redundancies built into every position to get where he wants to go.

Levin Black and I dove deeper into this theory on today’s Niners Nation Gold Standard Podcast. Check it out here, below, and everywhere.

Other topics in today’s episode

• Why have the betting odds on the #3 pick flipped to Mac Jones again?
• Is this the most interesting draft the team has had in over a decade?
• Levin yells at clouds about the NFL’s new jersey rules