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Is Rachaad White or Jacory Croskey-Merritt the Commanders’ RB1 heading into 2026?

Is Rachaad White or Jacory Croskey-Merritt the Commanders’ RB1 heading into 2026?

NFL DraftKings Fantasy Advice Season Long DFS Rail

Published:

By: Alex Hunter

Rachaad White is leaving the Buccaneers to join the Commanders on a one-year deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

With Chris Rodriguez Jr. departing for the Jaguars, Washington needed to add another back and White is a solid addition. The 27-year-old rushed for 572 yards and four touchdowns on 132 carries last season in Tampa Bay. He also caught 40 passes for 218 yards.

Rachaad White vs. Jacory Croskey-Merritt Fantasy Outlook

White joins Jacory Croskey-Merritt in Washington’s backfield. As a rookie, the 24-year-old rushed for 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries last season, but he only caught nine passes for 68 yards. Commanders’ HC Dan Quinn was very reluctant to use Croskey-Merritt in the passing game and bringing in an experienced receiving back like White to complement Croskey-Merritt makes a ton of sense.

Croskey-Merritt was the more efficient rusher than White last season, with these two averaging 4.7 and 4.3 YPC, respectively. Croskey-Merritt should be Washington’s lead rusher next season while White operates behind him as the team’s main pass-catching back. Croskey-Merritt and White are the only two running backs on the Commanders’ depth chart right now, so expect the team to draft or sign another back this offseason.

After an injury plagued 5-12 campaign last season, the Commanders carry long +6500 odds to win the Super Bowl next season on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Alex Hunter
Alex Hunter is an avid DFS player and sports handicapper, who has been a proud member of the DraftKings Network team since 2020. He is a data-driven analyst, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at Worcester State University and has been in the sports content business for nearly a decade, covering the NBA, NFL and PGA TOUR. Alex is a diehard Boston Celtics fan, who loves to be on the golf course when he isn’t grinding lineups or producing content. For all of Alex’s work or if you need any lineup advice, be sure to follow him @Hunta512 on X.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.