East running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt of Arizona and East offensive lineman Joe Huber of Wisconsin. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Commanders rookie running back earns praise from Dan Quinn

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt could become the team's next top rusher.

Croskey-Merritt was a seventh-round pick out of Arizona and could sneak his way up the Commanders depth chart at running back.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke about Croskey-Merritt's start during training camp.

Croskey-Merritt making a strong impression

“Yeah, at that position like I said, it's a hard one to evaluate in non-pads because you don't know if, did the person make the tackle, did he break the tackle? And so, it's the offensive line, defensive line and running backs are sometimes the hardest, but what you can evaluate is the explosion on the cut, the assignment, was the read correct? And having [Running Backs Coach/Run Game Coordinator] Anthony [Lynn] here is a really big deal from a running back standpoint," Quinn said.

"He's got so much experience, can give the insight to the players to absolutely get them right. But I think it's the violence of the cuts that he can get his shoulders square and get downhill fast. So, I'm very excited to see once we get into some opportunities, does he get tackled? Does he not? Does he run through some? But he's off to a really good start.”

Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler are free agents at the end of the season, so Croskey-Merritt could have some future power for the Commanders.

He may not get a ton of opportunities in his rookie year, but the Commanders could be playing the long game with him.

Croskey-Merritt is expected to make his Commanders debut on Aug. 8 against the New England Patriots to kick off the preseason.