Commanders' rookie hype cooled by harsh depth chart reality

Less than a week after Jacory Croskey-Merritt announced his arrival with a 24-yard touchdown run in the Monday Night Football preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Brian Robinson Jr. was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.

For many fans, this signaled the changing of the guard in the backfield, with the Commanders seeing enough from the seventh-round rookie to hand him the keys as the starting running back.

Much to their chagrin, Croskey-Merritt finds himself listed as fourth on the unofficial depth chart entering Week 1. Veteran Austin Ekeler is the starter.

Commanders remain cautious with Jacory Croskey-Merritt despite summer surge

Was the preseason a mirage or should fans not be concerned? Many were expecting Croskey-Merritt to follow a similar trajectory to Alfred Morris, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2012 before becoming the starter before Week 1.

Morris would go on to rush for 1,613 yards, second-most behind only Adrian Peterson, adding 13 touchdowns. The difference is that Washington didn't have an incumbent veteran starter, so he got the starting gig over Roy Helu and Evan Royster.

Despite Croskey-Merritt being buried, there is no reason he can't end up leading the team in rushing this year. Look no further than the Niners during Adam Peters' tenure for a prime example.

In both 2020 and 2021, the team went into Week 1 with veteran Raheem Mostert listed as the starter. However, by the end of the year, a different running back led the team in rushing.

Mostert ended up missing time with an ankle sprain in 2020, which allowed Jeff Wilson, who started the year at the bottom of the depth chart, to get more playing time. He ended the campaign with 600 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

In 2021, Mostert missed the majority of the season with a knee injury. Undrafted rookie Elijah Mitchell, who started fourth on the depth chart, would go on to lead the team with 963 rushing yards and five scores on the ground.

This same scenario has played out across the NFL in recent years. In 2016, fifth-rounder Jordan Howard went on to start the most games for the Chicago Bears despite being in the basement to begin the season, in the backfield, accumulating 1,313 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

The 2018 Denver Broncos provide a similar use case. Undrafted free agent Phillip Lindsay started third on the depth chart. He would go on to start eight games, finishing with 1,037 rushing yards and nine scores en route to the Pro Bowl.

So, in the grand scheme of things, does the depth chart even matter?

The Commanders felt comfortable enough with the room to trade last year's starter. Ekeler is a Swiss Army knife and offers a key receiving element for Jayden Daniels. Chris Rodriguez Jr. has consistently shown himself to be a bruiser throughout his time in Washington. Jeremy McNichols overlapped with Peters in San Francisco and is known for his blocking. Intangibles and familiarity matter.

Croskey-Merritt impressed in preseason but is coming off a college year where he only played in one game, so the team may be trying to ease him in at the beginning of the season. Fantasy football experts and Commanders fans shouldn't stress; the rookie's time is coming.