The 49ers have had a lot of injuries this season.

Just ask them.

After Sunday’s 43-16 loss in Seattle, cornerback Richard Sherman’s longest news-conference answer detailed his team’s deep dive into its depth chart.

“We’re just beat up,” Sherman said. “You think about the guys we have out there, you know? We lose our No. 1 receiver, No. 2 receiver, No. 1 quarterback, No. 2 quarterback, No. 1 running back. … You lose your starting safety, you lose your backup safety, you lose person after person. You lose two of your ‘Will’ linebackers…”

Perhaps Sherman was taking his cue from his head coach? Last week, Kyle Shanahan had a 361-word response when asked about the importance of continuity and covered similar injury ground.

Sherman and Shanahan aren’t wrong — not many teams flourish when they lose their starting QB in September — but here’s the thing: The losses of Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Jerick McKinnon and others can’t excuse all the stench from the 49ers’ 2-10 season.

That’s because the wretched 49ers might have been respectable if more of the new regime’s 2017 draft picks had emerged to offset the attrition. Instead, the first five picks from the first draft overseen by Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have been disappointing, to varying degrees.

In addition, two of last year’s biggest free-agent signees, wide receiver Pierre Garcon and inside linebacker Malcolm Smith, have been dogged by injuries, an issue that has marked their two-season tenures.

First, consider those draft picks: Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas hasn’t come close to resembling a No. 3 overall selection. Thrice-arrested inside linebacker Reuben Foster (first round) was released last month. Beleaguered cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (third round) was benched twice early in the season. Quarterback C.J. Beathard (third round) was supplanted by Nick Mullens, a 2017 undrafted free agent. And running back Joe Williams (fourth round) was released before Week 1 without having played a regular-season snap with the team.

Making matters worse, the 49ers three times traded a pick to move up in the draft, giving up a third-round pick in order to select Foster, a fifth-round pick to take Williams and a seventh-rounder to get Beathard.

As for Garcon and Smith, they have combined to miss 30 games since they signed. Garcon, whom the 49ers tried to deal at the trade deadline, has missed four of the past five games with a knee injury and could be placed on injured reserve for the second straight season. Smith is playing with tendinitis in his lower leg and wasn’t overly optimistic last week when asked if it would clear up in the offseason: “I hope so,” he said.

Lynch and Shanahan have had some monumental misses, but the 2017 draft class did include tight end George Kittle, a fifth-round steal. And their first three 2018 draft picks — right tackle Mike McGlinchey, wide receiver Dante Pettis and linebacker Fred Warner — all appear promising. In addition, Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Sherman have been strong free-agent signings, and New England head coach Bill Belichick called the 49ers to offer Garoppolo for a second-round pick partly because of his respect for Shanahan and Lynch.

Still, there has been a shift this season in the way Shanahan and Lynch are viewed: The honeymoon has ended and been replaced by a period in which their acumen is being questioned for the first time.

In other words, their collective reputation has taken a hit.

And that places them among the many who have been pounded in the 49ers’ painful season.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch