I don’t think there is a better fit for the “post-hype” label than the artist known as “Bill.” During the 2025 preseason, he saw his expectations spike. Injuries around him opened up a role, and this offense looked like one of the best in the league during Jayden Daniels’ rookie season, thus making that RB1 title a valuable one.
Should You Draft Jacory Croskey-Merritt in Fantasy Football?
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, henceforth referred to as JCM or Bill, has been one of the offseason darlings this fantasy cycle.
As of early September, Bill or JCM has an ADP of 113.4. His PFN rank is 99th, just inside the top 100. The PFN analysts are a little higher on him. He’s RB33 at his position with a projected 10.5 points per game.
JCM’s hype in the fantasy community has reached unforeseen levels, to the point where he’s adopted the rights to the Bill Nye the Science Guy theme song. Bill, Bill, Bill. But there’s a reason for that. In his rookie season, JCM racked up 805 yards and 8 touchdowns on 175 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt, and he had a healthy 4.6% touchdown rate as well.
Lately, he’s been dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury, but it’s not expected to be a major issue moving forward. As long as he’s healthy, JCM is in line to be the starter out of the gate at the running back position. It’s a deep running back rotation that includes Rachaad White along with a couple of younger backs still fighting for roster spots. But on film, you can see the reasoning for JCM keeping that volume, that top-end role for the Commanders. He’s got the pressing IQ, the lower-body flexibility, the explosion in and out of cuts, and the play strength. He’s also rumored to be doing more receiving work out of the backfield.
With receiving for JCM, we do need to see it to believe it. In 7 career seasons across college and the NFL, he’s only totaled 49 career catches, an average of 7 per year. That’s almost no volume in the passing phase, and it’s something he’s got to prove is a part of his game.
On top of that, losing Laremy Tunsil on the offensive line really hurts a blocking front that was already outside of the top half in PFN’s OL impact scoring in 2025. But on the flip side, Jayden Daniels and his gravity as a rushing threat when healthy could stretch defenses a bit thinner for JCM to operate. Even with a bottom-half offensive line in 2025, JCM still averaged a healthy 2.5 yards before contact.
In PPR leagues, JCM is a little less appealing, especially with Rachaad White poised to serve more often than not as the team’s third-down and receiving back. But JCM also has the inside track to a true volume rusher role in Washington’s offense. He’s young and talented with a natural creative affinity and a searing north-south range through narrow seams, and he has the potential receiving upside left to unearth.
I am actively targeting JCM, or Bill, at his ADP, not before. I wouldn’t take him too far into the top 100, but he presents as a very solid depth RB option with upside as a weekly starter in the RB2 slot. If he can reveal previously uncaptured receiving ability, he’s a massive RB1 sleeper, but we’re getting a little too far ahead of ourselves with that.
JCM has the explosive upside and the volume role. There are some offensive constraints working against him, but I think he is the best positioned to take advantage of that volume role in Washington.
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Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
In 20 years, we will be researching past rookie RB data and remembering JCM’s first season with a level of fondness. As a seventh-round pick, he cleared 800 yards on the ground, scored 8 times, and was the seventh-best post-contact rusher in the league.
In practice, we were let down. The artist known as Bill generated so much preseason hype that reaching double-figure PPR points 3 times in the first 14 weeks was unacceptable.
That resulted in him routinely being selected outside of the top 35 RBs this draft season, and I wonder if that’s going to end up looking like a bargain. If this Washington offense can return to the top-10 form that it showed with a healthy Jayden Daniels in 2024 and Croskey-Merritt is getting 15-ish touches a week, he’s going to be viable in most formats.
The 9 receptions (13 targets) is naturally the concern. I don’t think it changes because we have literally no reason to think it does. Croskey-Merritt saw under 7% of his collegiate touches come as a receiver, and the team brought in a specialist (Rachaad White) to mask that flaw.
The early season does him no favors (Seattle in Week 3), but the sheer volume has him sitting as a reasonable flex option for me in this spot, thanks to my general optimism in this environment.
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Where Croskey-Merritt Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- TreVeyon Henderson | NE
- Chuba Hubbard | CAR
- Tony Pollard | TEN
- Kenny Gainwell | TB
- Jonathon Brooks | CAR
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt | WAS
- MarShawn Lloyd | GB
- Rico Dowdle | PIT
- Blake Corum | LAR
- Jordan Mason | MIN
- Kyle Monangai | CHI
Know the position inside and out with every RB, ranked, on PFN's 2026 PPR Board.
