Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt arrived at spring camp with noticeable bulk after head coach Dan Quinn tasked the second-year back with scaling his 1.4-percent college target share to become a factor in the passing game. Despite registering a 26.6-percent Juke Rate (No. 7) and an impressive 106.1 Explosive Play Rating (No. 15) last season, he remains in the RB4 tier while the Washington coaching staff works him back from a soft-tissue injury.
Former Buccaneers running back Rachaad White is well-positioned to be Washington’s satellite back in what is shaping up to be a fluid backfield committee. Bill looks like the quintessential PPR value trap as Jayden Daniels will siphon away touchdowns while White hogs the targets.
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt ...
A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Washington ...
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt ...
Rachaad White is impressing the Washington coaching staff this offseason, positioning himself to command the passing-down role thanks to his elite receiving metrics on PlayerProfiler. He faces a backfield matrix that includes rookie Kaytron Allen, who boasts a 30.9-percent College Dominator Rating, and an injured Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Signed for just $2 million this offseason, White is shaping up to be one of the best free agent signings of 2026. If White continues to outwork the depth chart in training camp, his established receiving profile gives him the RB1 edge in Washington. Given his weekly volatility as a pass catching specialist, White is most attractive in fantasy football best ball formats.
The Washington Commanders’ coaching staff sees lead-back potential in Jacory Croskey-Merritt, provided the sophomore can elevate his sparse 3.0-percent Target Share from last season. Running backs coach Anthony Lynn believes the second-year back has high-volume playmaking ability.
Rachaad White, Jeremy McNichols, and Jerome Ford are taking most of Washington’s RB reps while Kaytron Allen gets up to speed. Regardless of whether Croskey-Merritt is called upon in passing situations, as long as he successfully secures the early-down duties over Allen, “Bill” (Croskey-Merritt) will unlock a high TD equity role. Bill will continue to lose sleeper steam in both fantasy football seasonal and dynasty league formats until he returns to practice.
The Commanders finally gave Croskey-Merritt truthers what they’ve been waiting for against the Chargers…Opportunity! Bill took advantage of that opportunity by putting up 111 rushing and two scores.
After Ekeler went down for the year, the Commanders had been using an RB by committee approach the previous two games and splitting carries amongst three RBs. This week, however, it was the JCM show. Bill, when given the chance, has looked the part averaging 6.6 YPC and 4 TDs. He’s a clear Rb2 going forward with serious RB1 potential.
Buy now before the price is unattainable!
Author: Brett Jackson (@bjackson1189)
Austin Ekeler, a longtime friend to the fantasy football community is feared to have suffered a torn Achilles in the Commanders Monday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers. The injury comes at a time where the team is looking to make a leap to the Super Bowl.
While Ekeler was on the downside of his career, he was a serviceable factor in the receiving game for the Commanders backfield. After trading away Brian Robinson the split so far has been between Ekeler and rising rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The duo along with quarterback Jayden Daniels only managed 51 total rushing yards while all 3 had 17 rushing yards respectively against the Packers formidable defense in Week 2.
Expect speedster Chris Rodgriguez to be active Week 3 as he has been a healthy scratch the first 2 games of the season. Merritt (Bill), will likely get the bulk of carries and opportunity share moving forward. His 14.2 fantasy points got him the Pepsi Rookie of the Week award in Week 1. Rumors of a trade abound for a more talented and well known back, but that shouldn’t deter fantasy gamers from keeping Merritt on their redraft rosters to see how things play out in the Commanders backfield.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Shortly after the news that the Washington Commanders were open to trading starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who prefers the name Bill, exploded for a 27 yard touchdown run on MNF, the last game of week 2 of the preseason. Croskey-Merritt flew under the radar in college because of him barely playing for 4 years at Alabama State, then transferred to New Mexico to carry the ball 189 times for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns and hauled in eight receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Merritt earned 2nd team all Mountain West honors and then transferred to Arizona. He only appeared in one game for the Wildcats due to some weird NCAA eligibility issue. Its confusing because he was in college for 6 years. He then declared for the draft. At the East-West Shrine Bowl, he earned offensive MVP. Croskey-Merritt posted impressive numbers for his size including a 95th percentile Burst Score, despite not being invited to the combine. All throughout training camp his name kept popping up and the hype was suddenly real when the Brian Robinson Jr. trade rumors surfaced. Safe to say he is no longer a secret on this offense.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is likely to shoot up the draft board after all of this. He is now the primary running back on an ascending offense with a young superstar quarterback in Jayden Daniels who is entering his 2nd year. The ceiling of this offense is through the roof. If you were lucky enough to snag Croskey-Merritt before this break through, count your blessings!
Author: Jesse Baldwin @J_Baldwin51
