The NFL’s regular season is on the horizon, which means the start of 2025 fantasy football redraft leagues. The best-case scenario for owners is that the players they’re targeting remain healthy and stay on their current teams during the preseason, but that isn’t always the case.
The Commanders were a surprising team in 2024, led by rookie quarterback and fantasy football standout Jayden Daniels. In the offseason, Washington traded for wide receiver Deebo Samuel, sparking excitement for the 2025 offense. Unfortunately, not all is quiet on the Commanders’ front. Notably, wide receiver Terry McLaurin has long been in a contract dispute with the franchise and requested a trade. He isn’t the only member of the offense who was involved in trade talks in the preseason.
Last year’s starting running back, Brian Robinson Jr., is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. And while he didn’t request a trade, it was reported after the team’s second preseason game that Washington had been shopping him around. The story culminated with the Commanders shipping him off to San Francisco on Friday.
Even if the Commanders’ offense is more geared to support Daniels, McLaurin and Samuel in fantasy football, Robinson being a starting running back gave him value. After the trade, however, there are plenty of carries to go around.
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Here is who could get the start now that the Commanders traded Robinson.
Commanders RB depth chart
| Position | Player |
| 1 | Austin Ekeler |
| 2 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt |
| 3 | Jeremy McNichols |
| 4 | Chris Rodriguez Jr. |
| 5 | Demetric Felton |
| 6 | Kazmeir Allen |
Austin Ekeler
Ekeler is the veteran of the running back corps. He is 30 years old and is coming off his first season with the Commanders. At this point in his career, Ekeler likely can’t handle the workload of being the bell cow back and starter, but he is still an adept receiving back. Last year, he played in 12 games for the Commanders and had 367 yards and four touchdowns on 77 touches. Ekeler also brought in 35 of his 41 targets for 366 yards.
He has the ability to take over the backfield, but it could be more of a split backfield to help limit Ekeler’s workload at his age, and to get a rookie a good number of snaps.
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Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Every preseason, some late-round picks or players go undrafted and catch the eye of fans. For those who have watched the Commanders, it has been Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a.k.a JCM — or “Bill,” as he recently asked to be called.
In his first preseason action, Croskey-Merritt had 24 yards on seven carries and a reception that went for eight yards. He saw more action in the second preseason game and finished with 46 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt goes by “Bill”
Bill just went 27 yards to the 🏠
Watch on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/UD9tot9Iau— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025
JCM is who fantasy football fans hope takes over under center, but the seventh-round pick doesn’t currently have the pedigree to be treated like the sure thing that some fantasy football managers want to act like he is. He played in only 13 career college games, including just one in the 2024 season, due to an NCAA discrepancy regarding a former jersey number. Croskey-Merritt was next seen at the East-West Shrine Bowl where he balled out with 97 yards and two touchdowns.
While there is limited experience, JCM’s fantasy value skyrocketed in the past few days.
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Jeremy McNichols/Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Some combination of Jeremy McNichols or Chris Rodriguez will round out the running back room in Washington. Either of them could end up being a roster cut guy as the preseason winds down, and neither currently needs to be in the conversation about being a possible replacement for Robinson.
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Demetric Felton/Kazmeir Allen
Both Felton and Allen are depth options who are unlikely to make the 53-man roster. Felton is a journeyman running back who is currently on his fifth NFL team, while Allen has been a member of the Commanders’ practice squad since 2023. Each of the two is fighting for a spot on Washington’s practice squad.
Brian Robinson Jr. trade details
- 49ers get: Brian Robinson Jr.
- Commanders get: 2026 6th-round pick
Washington and San Francisco agreed to a deal that sends Robinson to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick next year. With Robinson Jr. entering the final year of his contract in 2025, his value on the open market was limited. Therefore, the 49ers got a starting-caliber running back for just a late-round pick to backup Christian McCaffrey.
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Who is the Commanders backup running back?
This is a loaded question. Before the Robinson trade, the answer was likely Ekeler, who was typically used in short-distance or passing situations last year due to his pass-catching abilities. However, with the trade, Ekeler rises to the top of the depth chart for now.
The preseason outputs of JCM could still force Washington’s hand, as he could take over as the starting running back at some point this year. That would drop Ekeler back down to his previous role as a part-time player and backup.
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Where should I draft Bill Croskey-Merritt in fantasy football drafts?
With Robinson now on the West Coast, all eyes will turn to Croskey-Merritt, who could take over the backfield.
Presumably, the Commanders traded Robinson because they liked what they saw out of Croskey-Merritt, the seventh-round pick out of Arizona. While Ekeler represents a more experienced and stable option, Croskey-Merritt may ultimately reap the benefits of the depth chart shake-up.
Therefore, Croskey-Merritt can be looked at as a mid-round pick alongside other inexperienced players or players in a potential committee. Since this is Croskey-Merritt’s first season, it’s hard to tell how exactly Washington will use him, but things became a little clearer with the Robinson trade.
