Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a popular fantasy football sleeper with the NFL season on the verge of getting underway.
It’s a bit surprising to most, given that he was just a seventh-round draft choice by the Washington Commanders. Guys chosen that late aren’t normally in the conversation to start Week 1.
But JCM, affectionately known as Bill, doesn’t have a normal story.
He only played one game in 2024 due to an odd NCAA eligibility decision that kept him off the field.
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Why did Jacory Croskey-Merritt fall to the 7th round after NCAA ruling?
Croskey-Merritt looked to transfer away from New Mexico to a bigger program for his final college season in 2024.
He originally chose Arizona, changed his mind to Ole Miss, and changed it back to Arizona.
The NCAA issue stemmed from his 2019 redshirt season at Alabama State. That year, a different player appeared in a game in JCM’s No. 21, which caused the NCAA to rule he didn’t have full eligibility for the 2024 season because it had already been “used” in 2019, even though it wasn’t actually him out on the field.
Croskey-Merritt only got to play in one game for the Wildcats in 2024, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown. He then played in the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he had 97 yards and two touchdowns.
But he had very little film for teams to go on.
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He ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and vertical leaped 41.5 inches. He clearly is a great athlete, and anytime he was on a college field, he was really good.
The NCAA just held him back in 2024, and it may have hurt his draft stock.
Now, Croskey-Merritt has proven he belongs, and his first regular season hasn’t even started yet. He looks like he’ll get plenty of chances to keep proving himself.
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