The Washington Commanders are 3-6 on the year and are in a tough spot with Jayden Daniels (elbow) out for a while. They will turn to Marcus Mariota again at quarterback, and they may need to lean more heavily on their running game, giving more work to the backfield timeshare of Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Looking at the team’s Week 10 matchup with the Lions, can you start either option confidently? Let’s break down the fantasy football outlook for each option in the Commanders’ backfield and determine if either one can be a good option at this point in the season.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Fantasy Outlook
The Commanders’ rookie has flashed a little upside after earning a huge role coming into the season. The seventh-round pick got some early season fantasy buzz after the team traded Brian Robinson Jr. to the 49ers, but Croskey-Merritt hasn’t been able to fully claim the every down job, even after the season-ending injury to Austin Ekeler.
Croskey-Merritt showed his RB1 ceiling with 14 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers in Week 5, but he has been limited in his more recent contests. Daniels looked excellent in that game against the Chargers, too, but Croskey-Merritt has shown less synergy with Mariota.
Last week against the Seahawks, Croskey-Merritt had just 38 rushing yards on 12 carries. It was his third straight week with under 40 rushing yards and he only has minimal contributions as a pass-catcher, as well.
On Wednesday, he was limited in practice due to a dental procedure, but he returned to a full practice on Thursday and looks like he’ll be healthy this week. He has been serving as the team’s top running back and getting early down and goal line work, so he does have touchdown-dependent upside going forward despite his recent struggles.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. Fantasy Outlook
In that same Sunday night’s loss to the Seahawks, Chris Rodriguez Jr. played 34% of snaps and finished with a much better stat line than Croskey-Merritt. He took his 12 carries for 65 yards and a late touchdown. It was a huge jump in playing time for Rodriguez, who only played two snaps in Week 8.
Rodriguez brought good energy and production in his opportunity, and he is also typically good in pass protection and route running. He has 39 carries for 184 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the season, and he could definitely work into the mix more after his solid finish to last week. He scored his touchdown on the play after Daniels’ injury, and both he and Croskey-Merritt rotated with Mariota in at QB on the following drive.
The Bottom Line
With Mariota stepping in for Daniels, the Washington offense doesn’t have quite as high of a ceiling, but it could also have to rely more on running backs. The problem for Week 10 is that the Lions have been very good against opposing RBs, allowing only four running back touchdowns all year. Both backs have touchdown-dependent upside, but they are hard to trust even as a FLEX play since they’ll likely share the workload.
Looking ahead, though, it’s a very important backfield to watch since they have a favorable Week 11 matchup against the Dolphins. If either back secures the workhorse role, he could be a great value play in that matchup.
For one-week contests on DraftKings like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], Croskey-Merritt is $5,200 and Rodriguez is only $4,200. Since Rodriguez is so much cheaper at just more than the minimum, he could end up a great bargain play, although he’s very high-risk with his uncertain role. Croskey-Merritt does have potential, as well, since he’s likely to still be the primary option, but he’ll need to get into the end zone given how low his yardage totals have been lately.
