One of the most surprising and fun stories of the 2025 preseason has been the rise of rookie seventh-rounder Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The man who prefers to go by “Bill” went from hoping to merely make the team to potentially serving as the team’s RB1. However, Tuesday’s first regular season unofficial depth chart threw some cold water on the fire. Did fantasy football managers waste their time drafting the Washington Commanders running back?
Washington Commanders Depth Chart Analysis
A month ago, no one was drafting Croskey-Merritt at all. As recently as last week, JCM was going as early as the seventh or eighth round in some fantasy drafts. He’s even gone as early as the fifth round in some expert drafts.
While the rookie going that high was certainly a bit overzealous, the hype wasn’t without merit. After all, the Commanders willingly jettisoned 2024 starter Brian Robinson Jr., presumably because they believed in Croskey-Merritt.
Chris Rodriguez was on the team last year. He’s a solid power back, but does not project as the main guy. Meanwhile, Austin Ekeler is over 30 years old and both he and the team have no interest in giving him 15+ touches a game. Naturally, that led to belief that JCM, with all the preseason hype, was set to be the lead back.
Not so fast. At least not according to the team’s first regular season depth chart.
Here’s the Commanders’ Week 1 depth chart.
• Rookie Josh Conerly Jr. is the starting RT
•Nick Allegretti OR Andrew Wylie will start at RG while Sam Cosmi is on PUP
•Bill is RB4
• Jaylin Lane is PR, Deebo is KR pic.twitter.com/SlKrEBEUec
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) September 2, 2025
Obviously, this is not what fantasy managers want to see. However, let’s not put JCM dreams out to pasture just yet. As a reminder, the Denver Broncos listed RJ Harvey as the RB5 on their first preseason depth chart, behind Audric Estimé, who is no longer on the team.
Croskey-Merritt surely appeared to leapfrog Jeremy McNichols on the depth chart. Even if that’s not reflected in the unofficial release, it would be a surprise if that’s not what took place in the game.
Ultimately, if Sunday comes around and JCM is a healthy inactive, or doesn’t play a snap, then we can admit defeat. For now, though, take this release with a huge grain of salt. The most likely outcome is still a committee featuring Croskey-Merritt as the early down back, Rodriguez in short yardage and the goal line, and Ekeler in the passing game.
Wednesday update: At Wednesday’s practice, the Commanders’ first official one of the season, we got something more actionable than an unofficial depth chart. Croskey-Merritt was the second back going through drills behind the veteran Ekeler. Perhaps he is not, in fact, the RB4.
Week 1 look at Commanders running back room:
– Austin Ekeler
– Bill Croskey-Merritt
– Chris Rodriguez
– Jeremy McNicholsHead coach Dan Quinn said this afternoon that the team loves all four running backs.
Looking like a committee that will utilize skillsets at certain times. pic.twitter.com/J57NBlNPFr
— Alex Flum (@AlexFlumTV) September 3, 2025
We obviously won’t know for sure until we see what happens on Sunday. However, it sure looks like JCM will have a meaningful role out of the gate.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Fantasy Football Outlook
What an overwhelming month it has been for Croskey-Merritt. In roughly 30 days, the rookie went from a seventh-round pick to a fantasy football phenomenon. You’ll often hear him called “Bill,” a nickname he got as a child when his family thought his bald head resembled the cartoon character “Little Bill.” His strong training camp first turned the heads of beat reporters, then his preseason performance caught the eye of fans. Finally, the trade of Brian Robinson Jr. on Aug. 22 confirmed that the internal buzz was real.
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer
But let’s be clear: Croskey-Merritt was a seventh-round pick for a reason. He had an unusual college career, taking snaps for three different programs over six years. His first four seasons were at Alabama State, where he failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in any campaign. After transferring, he showed enough promise to get drafted on the final night and has continued to impress since. So, what now?
A player with only one 140-touch season on his resume is now considered the potential lead back for an NFL team aiming for the playoffs. To say things are moving fast for him and for fantasy managers would be an understatement, which will likely lead to uneven production.
On the bright side, this is a long season. If you drafted him, and his rising ADP is a great reminder to draft as late as possible, the best move now is to wait. Veteran Austin Ekeler sits atop the depth chart, but he has said he left Los Angeles because he didn’t want a bellcow workload, and it’s safe to assume that stance hasn’t changed with age.
This situation means Croskey-Merritt will get every chance to succeed and prove that the flashes we saw this summer were the start of something special, not just an outlier. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Every Jacory Croskey-Merritt rush, route, target, and pass blocking rep from his preseason debut. pic.twitter.com/ilEtWdbbeH
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) August 9, 2025
First-year production from a player with Croskey-Merritt’s profile isn’t common, but succeeding in a high-powered offense next to an elite quarterback is certainly possible. The best approach is to wait and see. The fantasy projection looks a lot different with 14 touches compared to 20, so why force the issue and start him in Week 1 over a player you drafted higher who has a more defined role?
The Washington Commanders head to Lambeau Field to kick off Week 2 on Thursday Night, and I’m remaining cautious regardless of how Week 1 unfolds. If he gets a heavy workload, there’s a legitimate concern about his recovery on a short week.
If he doesn’t get much work, his role will be in question. But after that quick turnaround, Washington gets extended rest before facing Las Vegas and then traveling to Atlanta. If Croskey-Merritt truly fills the role Robinson left behind, I’ll likely have him as an RB2 for Week 3.
— Kyle Soppe, PFSN Fantasy Analyst
