Obvious option emerges for Commanders in intensifying position battle

Throughout the offseason, the Washington Commanders appeared set to feature two primary running backs in 2025, Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler. After only two weeks, both of them are no longer on the active roster.

Robinson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round pick during the preseason. Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of the team's Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers. That left the Commanders with a running back room including seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, third-year pro Chris Rodriguez Jr., and veteran Jeremy McNichols.

Washington's Week 3 contest against the Las Vegas Raiders provided an opportunity for one of them to emerge as the featured back. Instead, they all showed that they can coexist as valuable pieces in the Commanders' offense.

Commanders should continue with their running back committee approach moving forward

The Commanders' three running backs combined for 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in Week 3. That's not even including quarterback Marcus Mariota's 40 yards and a score on six attempts, or wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr.'s three ground touches for 18 yards.

Simply put, the Commanders' ground attack is excellent without Robinson and Ekeler.

Running back is the most replaceable skill position in football, as it is the easiest to plug and play when a featured contributor goes down. That also minimizes the importance of having just one primary back when two or three can accomplish the same task just as well.

A lot of Commanders fans want to see Croskey-Merritt be the unambiguous RB1, and understandably so. He's the shiny new toy, the late-round success story who stole the show all summer. But McNichols and Rodriguez fill additional roles better than he can — namely, pass-catching and blocking. It doesn't make sense to use him as an every-down back just yet.

Croskey-Merritt may eventually round out his game and grow into that role. But for now, splitting carries between him, Rodriguez, and McNichols makes everybody's job easier. It keeps all of their legs fresher, and it gives defenses more wrinkles to prepare for.

All of this doesn't even factor in the fact that when star quarterback Jayden Daniels is healthy again, he will also play a more significant role in the run game than Mariota, who is an adept dual-threat himself. There's also Samuel, who can turn designed handoffs into big plays with his speed and tackle-breaking abilities.

The Commanders have no shortage of mouths to feed in the backfield. It's for the best that they all get fed.