Washington Commanders News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Power Rankings

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (32). Amber Searls-Imagn Images

A trade made this Commanders rookie a fantasy football must-draft

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The only thing that truly lines up between fantasy football and real life is that touchdowns are king. That’s why, on any given Sunday, Monday, Thursday, or even Saturday, you’ll see Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn passing up a potential field goal to get one.

It is also why you’ll see teams pull off dramatic moves before and even in-season, like the Commanders did last year by trading for cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and even before this one by bringing in receiver Deebo Samuel and left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Those moves you can see coming, though. It isn’t rare for winning teams to make big moves for veteran players. What is rarer is the trade that sent running back Brian Robinson Jr. out of Washington, resulting in a real-life shift in the team’s ball-carrier group that sent very real ripples through the fantasy football world.

The Fantasy Fallout

Just like that, seventh-round rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt went from being on every dynasty fantasy player’s board to every draft board across the game’s landscape. That includes landing at No. 30 on Pro Football Focus’ fantasy rankings for running backs in 2025.

“Croskey-Merritt has consistently improved as a running back from his time at Alabama State to New Mexico, where he significantly improved in both the run and passing game, averaging a first down on 37.2% of his runs and breaking long runs at a ridiculously high rate. After a brief stint at Arizona, he impressed at the Shrine Bowl with 97 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. He further cemented his potential at the combine, finishing in the 80th percentile or better in the 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump,” says PFF. “Selected by the Washington Commanders, he quickly moved up the depth chart in the preseason, even playing ahead of Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr., suggesting he could be the primary early-down back…while his role is likely to be primarily as an early-down runner in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, his talent makes him worthy of being one of the top 32 running backs drafted, though you may not have to draft him that high."

Sorting Out the Backfield

Croskey-Merritt, referred to as ‘Bill’ around these parts, was never thought of as a camp body, despite entering the league in the final round of the NFL Draft.

In fact, for a period of time, it was considered that McNichols would be the odd man out. However, once steam started to roll behind Robinson’s trade rumors, it became evident to most that the Commanders would likely keep four backs on the active 53-man roster, including the rookie. And that’s exactly what they did.

Still, we’ll need to sort out the snap-share in Washington before building full confidence in the rookie’s viability as a fantasy star, though it is likely the team will do everything in its power to keep us and the New York Giants in the dark about that until game day.

In the meantime, an “early down back” may not excite fantasy enthusiasts as much as an every-down back does, getting one with the potential to become just that down the road could be worth the stash spot on your bench early in the season.

Besides, every fantasy manager knows that if you need to dip into your backfield depth early in the year, you’re likely out of luck anyway.

A Bet on Resilience

Croskey-Merritt’s resilience and determination to succeed were on full display when he arrived at the Shrine Bowl in early 2025. Those factors contributed to the Commanders' decision to draft him.

He’s only shown the same effort and dedication since arriving in Washington, and perhaps that gave the franchise the confidence it needed to move on from Robinson a year earlier than it needed to.

If he can do all of that with just two games played in the past year-plus, imagine what he can do now with a whole training camp and NFL regular season ahead of him.