Making the final roster for the Washington Commanders will be an uphill battle for 2025 NFL draft seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt, but his chances have been endorsed by a franchise great who knows a thing or two about going from obscurity to stardom.
Super Bowl winner and Ring of Fame member Brian Mitchell has boldly predicted running back Croskey-Merritt will make people sit up and take notice this offseason. Mitchell told JP Finlay of NBC4 Sports, Croskey-Merritt is “going to make some noise. I think getting him in the 7th round is a misnomer. He didn’t get to play but his play at the Shrine Bowl was a 3rd rounder.”
That’s a bold statement, but Mitchell’s words also echo the level of hype surrounding Croskey-Merritt. A level of hype not usually reserved for a player taken in the final round of a draft.
Mitchell also had to wait a long time to hear his name called until he became the 130th player selected back in 1990. The fifth-rounder soon emerged as a useful utility weapon and became one of the best return men in NFL history.
That’s a high bar for Croskey-Merritt to clear, but the former Arizona star has a chance to make an impression among a backfield committee still lacking home-run potential.
Commanders Have Need for Croskey-Merritt’s Skills
Mitchell’s reference to Croskey-Merritt’s truncated final season in college is key to understanding the rookie’s upside. He was denied the chance to suit up more than once for the Wildcats thanks to eligibility issues.
A small sample size from 2024 didn’t deter the Commanders from running the rule over Croskey-Merritt during the pre-draft process. They had likely been alerted by the 24-year-old’s spectacular performance during the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Croskey-Merritt produced a showing worthy of being named MVP, and Full Press NFL’s George Carmi noticed how the player “likes to ‘finish runs’ and initiate contact.”
A physical running style is something Croskey-Merritt shares with many of the backs already on Washington’s roster. What can set him apart is how “None offer the quickness and one-cut explosiveness of Washington’s seventh-round pick,” according to Ben Standig of The Athletic.
The lack of true speedsters in the rotation is a big reason why the position group remains a question mark headed into the new season.
Commanders Need More Juice at Running Back
Part of the problem is how incumbent workhorse Brian Robinson Jr. is a steady grinder, but lacks a true breakaway threat. His unspectacular style helps explain why Robinson is consistently touted as a candidate for trade.
The Commanders can rely on more versatility and escapability from veteran Austin Ekeler. Yet, as Standig pointed out, “less-is-more with touches for the 30-year-old” who suffered a pair of concussions last season.
There will be next-to no speed and off-tackle juice from either Jeremy McNichols or Chris Rodriguez Jr. The former is more of a pass-catcher out of the backfield, while the latter can be a bruiser between the tackles.
All of these factors create the ideal environment for Croskey-Merritt to defy his draft status and prove a true sleeper for the Commanders. If he can turn on the jets often enough during OTAs, the late-rounder will surely play his way into a rotation offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is hoping proves greater than the sum of its parts.
