Washington Commanders fans may not have known much about Jacory Croskey-Merritt before this summer.
But now, JCM is making some serious noise.
Croskey-Merritt split his college career between Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona.
He made it all the way to the draft’s seventh round, where he was chosen at pick No. 245 overall.
This summer, Croskey-Merritt has quickly moved up the depth chart in Washington.
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The Commanders return running backs Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols.
It seems likely that JCM is at least ahead of McNichols now.
As far as passing those veterans? That may be coming, too, writes one analyst.
“Don’t discount this rookie’s potential simply because he slipped to the seventh round of the draft,” writes ESPN’s Tristan Cockcroft. “Eligibility issues limited him to one game for Arizona in 2024, surely deflating his draft stock. Croskey-Merritt has since shaped up as a potential draft-day steal, drawing raves for his rookie camp and early preseason work while showing remarkable speed and quick-cutting ability. Considering Austin Ekeler is now 30 years old and Brian Robinson Jr. is coming off a disappointing 2024, Croskey-Merritt could quickly work his way into the Commanders’ rushing rotation, with his eye on a starting job before long.”
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There was actually a semi-viral discussion on social media earlier this week about the Commanders actually cutting Robinson in favor of JCM, but that seems a bit of an overreaction.
There’s no reason to get rid of the powerful Robinson, but it does seem like Croskey-Merritt has a chance to make an earlier impact than anyone saw.
It probably makes things confusing for fantasy football players, but it’s a good problem to have for the Commanders, and it looks like they got a gem in the seventh round.
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