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. 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