Inside: Meet Jacory ‘Bill’ Croskey-Merritt, the Commanders’ running back who caused a social media frenzy. Plus: Fantasy implications of Joe Flacco as Cleveland’s starter and Matthew Stafford’s injury.
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Who is this Croskey-Merritt guy?
When Jordan Schultz reported that presumed starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. was being shopped by the Commanders, it cracked the dam that held the average draft position of his backup, Jacory Croskey-Merritt (who goes by “Bill”), around pick 230, behind 61 other running backs.
The barriers broke last night. When Robinson was subsequently held out of Washington’s preseason game and Croskey-Merritt scored the below rushing touchdown, the ensuing flood hit social media, group chats and fantasy football drafts alike.
Three things you should know about the Commanders’ seventh-round rookie:
1. It’s a miracle he made the NFL. A zero-star recruit out of high school, Croskey-Merritt spent four years at FCS Alabama State, transferred to New Mexico for one season and joined Arizona in 2024. But eligibility issues, apparently due to a clerical error, forced Arizona to sit their starting running back after his first game (13 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown).
2. Croskey-Merritt stood out at the East-West Shrine Bowl, when he won MVP after taking 11 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
3. That performance helped vault him to RB24 in “The Beast” and saw him drafted at that value; Croskey-Merritt was the 25th — and last — running back drafted in 2025, taken by the Commanders.
Croskey-Merritt quickly impressed in Washington, his college experience well suited to OC Kliff Kingsbury’s inside-zone run scheme and shotgun-heavy offense. It didn’t take long for the rookie to earn practice reps with the first-team offense.
“I like the group we have; there’s no doubt Bill’s had some good flashes for a young guy,” said Kingsbury before the Commanders’ first preseason game.
Those flashes continued in Washington’s two preseason games, in which Croskey-Merritt posted 70 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He’s now 112th overall — twice as high as he was being drafted last week — in Jake Ciely’s updated fantasy rankings.
But remember Mark Twain’s warning: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and [draft Chris Rodriguez Jr.].”
Instead of boarding the hype train, I’d stash Washington’s other running back, Rodriguez, still free in drafts. In 2024, Rodriguez quietly posted PFF’s seventh-best run grade (90.1), which ranked between Josh Jacobs and Bucky Irving. And it was Rodriguez, not Croskey-Merritt, who started with the first-team offense last night, taking six touches for a team-high 62 yards.
Both Rodriguez and Croskey-Merritt are also competing with the steady Austin Ekeler, who should dominate passing-down work, making this an intriguing committee situation to monitor.
Other fantasy notes from last night’s 31-17 Bengals win:
- Tahj Brooks is the obvious handcuff to Chase Brown, as the Bengals rookie running back took 11 carries for 47 yards while playing several snaps with Joe Burrow and the first-team offense.
- Bengals receiver Mitch Tinsley went discount Randy Moss against his former team, catching two touchdown passes. He finished with five catches for 73 yards, likely securing his roster spot.
Have a drive, Mitch Tinsley!
His third catch of the drive is a TD 🙌
Watch on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/67SMjWO3v8— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025
Over to Jake, who shares his thoughts on rookie running back situations.
All In with Jake Ciely
My two biggest takeaways from Preseason Week 2: A Dolphins running back fumbled his opportunity, while the Jaguars have a running back conundrum.
Miami: I already believed rookie running back Ollie Gordon was a better fit for the Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert role than Jaylen Wright, the second-year player whom Miami traded up for in last year’s fourth round. I just didn’t expect Gordon to seize that role immediately.
Wright not only cracked the door open for Gordon to step through, he dang-well kicked it open … or more appropriately, fell over into the door and let Gordon step over him. Wright has looked like one of the worst running backs this preseason, while Gordon has flashed and gone from lottery ticket to a mid-late round, must-draft based on upside alone. I’ve got Gordon 30 spots above his consensus ranking.
Jacksonville: The Jaguars reversed course a bit, or maybe this was always the plan, but after Week 1, when Travis Etienne saw all of the starting team work, Etienne split nearly 50/50 with Tank Bigsby in Week 2.
If Bigsby was the clear backup and timeshare piece, Etienne would be an interesting bounce-back pick with Top 20 RB upside. However, if they are going to form their own Steelers-like Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren duo, I still want Etienne in the Warren-like role, given the pass-catching value. Though that makes Etienne an RB3 instead, and there is greater bust potential now.
And please: Stop wasting your bench spots. It’s a big fantasy football mistake nearly everyone makes.
Back to you, Jacob.
Stafford returns, Flacco starts
Just as mild concern grew into legitimate worry, Matthew Stafford returned to Rams practice. The 37-year-old took reps in both individual drills and 11-on-11 sessions, a promising development after Stafford was held out of most August practices due to back soreness.
I doubt this is the last you read of Stafford’s back, however, as his aggravated disc injury has required an epidural, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic’s site, stops pain signals from traveling from spinal nerves to your brain. Yikes. Sean McVay told reporters that the plan is to take things “a week at a time,” refusing to commit to Stafford starting in Week 1.
In Cleveland, naming Joe Flacco their starter might give the Browns their best Week 1 quarterback of this century. Since 2000, Cleveland’s Week 1 starters are 3-21-1, completing just 55.5 percent of their passes and throwing more interceptions (32) than touchdowns (24). Flacco in Week 1? A winning record (6-5), decent completion percentage (65.3) and a positive TD-to-INT ratio (12-7).
What does this mean for fantasy?
Injured Stafford: Be wary. Since arriving in L.A. in 2021, Stafford has missed 11 games. His backups rely less on receivers (64 percent target rate compared to 71 with Stafford) while all fantasy options typically see reduced production. That increases the risk/reward of Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Davante Adams, whose average draft position has slightly dropped amid the news.
Starting Flacco: Target tight ends. In 2023, Flacco played six games in Kevin Stefanski’s Browns offense. He targeted tight ends at a 32.1 percent clip, which would’ve ranked behind only the Raiders (Brock Bowers), Chiefs (Travis Kelce), and Cardinals (Trey McBride) last season. David Njoku — who averaged 23.1 points per game with Flacco — is in line for a big season.
Flacco is expected to start the Browns’ final preseason game against the Rams, and I doubt Stafford starts opposite him. Gary Davenport has more on what the Browns can do for your 2025 fantasy team, and I’d recommend you read his section on receivers.
Extra Points
⭐ Ja’Marr Chase leads The Athletic’s rankings of the top 25 players who are 25 years old or younger, as the collection of scouts, coaches and NFL executives ranked only one other player ahead of Jayden Daniels.
👀 A better Ladd McConkey? Daniel Popper explains how the Chargers’ record-setting receiver is ready for greater success in 2025.
🚑 The 49ers are always injured. Beat reporter Matt Barrows explains why it starts with practice speed.
▶️ Yesterday’s most-clicked: Zak Keefer’s story on why Andrew Luck returned to football.
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(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)