The Washington Commanders waited until the seventh round, pick No. 245 to be exact, in the 2025 NFL draft to address their need at running back. Washington selected Jacory Croskey-Merritt of Arizona, and he was the final running back selected in April’s draft.
In all, 25 running backs were selected. That means other NFL teams believed there were 24 better running backs in the 2025 draft class. That was good news for the Commanders, who had only five picks after trades for cornerback Marshon Lattimore, Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil.
Through five weeks of the 2025 NFL season, only one rookie running back has more rushing yards than Croskey-Merritt: That player, Omarion Hampton of the Los Angeles Chargers, was selected in the first round. However, that’s not all; Hampton has only 31 more rushing yards than Croskey-Merritt, despite having 21 more attempts.
Croskey-Merritt, also known as Bill, had his breakout performance in Sunday’s impressive 27-10 dismantling of the Los Angeles Chargers. He carried the ball 14 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Croskey-Merritt also caught two passes for 39 yards. Bill is a frontrunner to win his second Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week award this week. He also won the title in Week 1.
Amazingly, Croskey-Merritt has had only 10 or more carries twice in five games. That number will continue to go up. In almost every metric, whether you use traditional statistics or advanced analytics, Bill ranks at or near the top. Check this out from Pro Football Focus:
Croskey-Merritt powered the Commanders’ running game in the team’s upset win over the Chargers. He recorded his first 100-yard game, carrying the ball 14 times for 111 yards (fourth most), six first downs (tied for second most) and two scores. He gained 74 yards after contact (fourth most) at an average of 5.3 yards per attempt (third best), in addition to tying for first in first-down-plus-touchdown rate (42.9%) and ranking second in 10-plus-yard runs (seven),
Croskey-Merritt is now the second-ranked running back by PFF overall grade (84.9) and top player in PFF rushing grade (90.1). He is the only back with a 90.0-plus PFF rushing grade through this point of the season. Croskey-Merritt has seen 10 or more carries in only two games, yet he places in the top 20 in rushing yards (283). He is averaging 4.4 yards gained after contact (second best) and has notched nine explosive gains (tied for eighth most). Most of his carries have come in gap schemes (34), where he’s gained 212 yards (fifth most).
Those yards-per-attempt numbers will come down. That’s an almost impossible pace to maintain for any running back. However, the Commanders found their current and future starting running back with the 245th overall pick. Remember when some mock drafts projected Washington to use a first or second-round pick on a running back?
Commanders GM Adam Peters was able to use his first-round pick on a starting offensive lineman and his second-round pick on a starting cornerback and still land a potential Rookie of the Year talent at running back in the seventh round.
Not bad.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Jacory Croskey-Merritt ranked among the best
