Sunday brings the main slate of NFL Week 1 action, and no player has captivated the fantasy football community more than Jacory Croskey-Merritt. As the Washington Commanders take on the New York Giants to start the season, how the running back room shakes out will prove one of the most interesting storylines of the day.
The hype train already left the station for Croskey-Merritt, but does he belong in fantasy football lineups given the uncertain situation? Read on to find out!
Start or sit Jacory Croskey-Merritt in Week 1?
The Jacory Croskey-Merritt saga has been a fun one throughout the build-up to the 2025 NFL season. Typically, a seventh-round pick doesn’t see much hype, nor do they have a real shot at taking over the backfield of one of the best offenses in football. However, here we are as everything seems like it’s falling into place for Croskey-Merritt to see a real role this season.
The Commanders traded incumbent starter Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers just a couple of weeks ago, a huge statement by the organization on how they view the rest of their backfield’s capabilities. The coaching staff has also talked up Croskey-Merritt’s explosiveness throughout the preseason slate, and he put that on display alongside good vision with a long touchdown run against the Cincinnati Bengals. While his overall line of 18 rushes for 70 yards and a score don’t pop out too much, his college production also can’t be ignored — he averaged nearly 100 rushing yards per game with 18 total touchdowns in his lone full season at the FBS level in 2023 before eligibility issues limited him to just one game in 2024.
Croskey-Merritt has the makings of a genuinely good running back, and there’s much to like in his pre-draft profile with an elite composite speed grade with a 4.45 40-yard dash and a 1.50 10-yard split. It’s easy to see how he can become a playmaker for the Commanders, but will he get enough work to earn a starting spot in lineups this week?
The verdict
This Washington offense does set up the run game for success. The sheer volume of this ground attack brings plenty of upside — the Commanders ranked sixth in rush attempts last season (526); fourth in rushing touchdowns (25); fourth in YPC (5.0); first in EPA/rush (0.12); and first in success percentage (49.6%). While they logged just a 40% rush rate in 2024, 13th-highest, the halfbacks still saw plenty of opportunities.
That rings particularly true in neutral and positive game scripts, which the Commanders can certainly find themselves in against the Giants on Sunday. Yes, New York’s defensive line does have Dexter Lawrence, but they ranked 20th in defensive EPA/rush (0.11) last season while giving up the seventh-most rushing yards per game (136.2). The Giants did add talent on defense over the offseason like EDGE Abdul Carter and safety Jevon Holland, but they’re still likely no match for this Washington offense, which should nurse the lead for most of the game.
On one hand, the first depth chart from the Commanders listed Croskey-Merritt as the fourth halfback behind Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols. However, those initial depth charts don’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things — while Ekeler should lead in snap share with the passing work and Rodriguez likely gets short-yardage and goal-line usage, there may be enough rush attempts for Croskey-Merritt to see opportunities. He won’t be a bell cow by any means, but positive game script and the offseason hype mean the rookie should see the field.
There’s a little bit of risk involved in this start, but Croskey-Merritt could serve as a high-upside FLEX start in most fantasy formats, especially if he actually falls higher in the pecking order than anticipated. It’s much safer to wait and see what the Week 1 usage looks like, but if you have the appetite and want to rive the hype train to glory, pencil him in as a tentative start.
