By all accounts, Jacory Croskey-Merritt overachieved as a rookie.
After missing nearly his entire senior season of college because of eligibility issues, he fell to the seventh round of the 2025 draft. For players drafted in that range, merely making the team is far from a guarantee. Not only did Croskey-Merritt, nicknamed “Bill,” make the team, but he also went on to become the Washington Commanders’ leading rusher with 805 yards on the ground.
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That warranted celebration, but the Commanders came into the offseason focused on what Croskey-Merritt needed to do to improve. As electric as he could be, his first year in the NFL was also an uneven one.
Croskey-Merritt emerged as the starter in Week 5 but was benched by Week 10 following four consecutive underwhelming performances. He wouldn’t start another game until the penultimate contest of the season.
Altogether, Croskey-Merritt played just 38.5 percent of Washington’s offensive snaps and had only 184 touches (30th among NFL running backs), according to Pro Football Reference. He didn’t have the physical build to endure a larger workload, wasn’t a receiving threat and couldn’t be depended on as a pass blocker. He just wasn’t capable of being an every-down back.
General Manager Adam Peters and Coach Dan Quinn tasked Croskey-Merritt with changing that. The first order of business was getting stronger, and he pulled that off by adding “seven or eight” pounds of lean muscle mass in the offseason.
“I feel stronger,” Croskey-Merritt said Tuesday. “I feel like I can be ready whenever my number is called.”
Beyond that, Croskey-Merritt needed to work to diversify his skill set. Running back coach Anthony Lynn has worked diligently with Croskey-Merritt on sharpening his receiving and blocking skills. The second-year back said the mental piece of pulling that off has been more challenging than the physical, but he feels he has made strides.
“I can do more than just run a ball,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I want to be able to catch out the backfield and be able to block and run. I just want to be the jack-of-all-trades.”
As Croskey-Merritt works to accomplish that goal, the Commanders have prepared themselves in case he doesn’t reach the mark. They re-signed Jeremy McNichols, signed veterans Rachaad White and Jerome Ford, drafted Kaytron Allen in the sixth round, and picked up undrafted free agent Robert Henry Jr.
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During training camp, the snaps have been evenly split among the backs. The Commanders won’t roster all of them, but they’ll probably keep at least four.
Even though the Commanders have gotten a couple padded practices under their belt, most plays in team drills have been focused on the passing game. That’s allowed White, who has had 205 catches for 1,450 yards and 11 touchdowns in his four-year career, to stand out as a receiving threat.
“He’s got just great hands,” Quinn said last week. “If a team’s playing zone, Jayden’s good enough to put it on the correct shoulder. So, when he catches it, the run after catch is there. Not just throwing it to a spot, but [he knows] the specifics of where to go: We call that drop step. And so those are the things that I’m excited to see Bill apply and get into his game. The best way to do that is to see it out here.”
White was college teammates with quarterback Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, so the two already have a strong chemistry. The value of that trust factor shouldn’t be overlooked.
“The biggest thing is being in your spots,” White said Wednesday. “Everything with the quarterback starts with trust. Him knowing I know the play. He knows I’m going to do my job. He knows I’m going to be in the right spot. … He knows if everything breaks down, he can trust me to make something shake.”
McNichols is the Commanders’ best pass-protecting back and is a skilled receiver. He and White are both currently better equipped than Croskey-Merritt to handle third-down duties.
When it comes to the run game, Allen has also flashed. Penn State’s all-time leading rusher is bigger than Croskey-Merritt at 5-foot-11, 217 pounds, and has more of a bruising run style. He could potentially carve out a significant share of carries.
Offensive coordinator David Blough plans to run the ball more often this year, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Croskey-Merritt’s snap count will go up. If he doesn’t display the growth the Commanders are looking for, they’ll continue to operate with more of a running-back-by-committee approach.
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Observations
