Is Jacory Croskey-Merritt a Good Fantasy Football Running Back Post-Week 15 Breakout?
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The Commanders played Week 15 without Chris Rodriguez Jr., and it led Jacory Croskey-Merritt back to fantasy relevancy. Croskey-Merritt carried the ball 18 times for 96 Yards and 1 Touchdown. We must now consider if he has gained a great role for the finishing stretch, or if Rodriguez Jr. will be back as the majority back that he has become of recent. Leave it to us to guide you along this path.
Commanders Backfield: Recent Output
Bill Croskey-Meritt on Sunday:
— PFF Fantasy (@PFF_Fantasy) December 15, 2025
🪖 96 yards
🪖 5.3 yards per carry
🪖 6 missed tackles forced (T-1st) pic.twitter.com/NgQmsad52l
Prior to Week 15, the Commanders have been working with Rodriguez Jr. as the majority back. This is the backfield split from Week 10-14:
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. - 10.5 Attempts per Game
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt - 8.6 Attempts per Game
- Jeremy McNichols - 4.0 Attempts per Game
This is the Red Zone Output in that same timeframe:
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. - 10 Touches / 2.5 per Game
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt - 6 Touches / 1.2 per Game
- Jeremy McNichols - 4 Touches / 1.0 per Game
The Commanders, as we have said, have shown a clear bias to Rodriguez Jr. Prior to the season's start, this had been the news lingering around Commanders camp. Rodriguez Jr. was meant yo be the teams starter, but it ended up going to Croskey-Merritt. Come November, we finally saw Rodriguez Jr. as the RB1, and it has panned out just fine.
What to Expect
With Chris Rodriguez sidelined, Jacory Croskey-Merritt played 32 snaps versus Jeremy McNichols' 30 snaps against the Giants. Bill saw a 66.7% running back rush share, his highest since Week 8. He failed to see a target on just 8 routes run.
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) December 15, 2025
The Commanders have yet to come out and say if Croskey-Merritt will own more work. Commonly, if the coaching staff is blown away by a game, they are not shy to state that a player will gain more work. The most recent example is with Jawhar Jordan in Houston.
Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury are looking to finish off the year strong. Their jobs are not in jeopardy, but they could enter the 2026 hot seat if failures linger. They want to win, and it looks to us that Rodriguez Jr. seems to give them the best chance to win, given their confidence in the player of recent.
I would expect the split to remain to what it had been Weeks 10 and beyond, as shown above.
Week 16 Outlook
The Commanders will be taking on the Eagles in Week 16. The Eagles are 21st versus Running Backs and 22nd in Rushing Yards Allowed. They allow (0.7) Touchdowns per Game, while Rodriguez Jr. looks to have north of 40% of Commanders Red Zone Rushes. He may have a roughly 25-30% chance to score.
Stock Watch
Chris Rodriguez Jr. is a nice Red Zone player, valued as a Flex option, more valuable in Non-PPR formats.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is too risky to play with a likely low workload.
Jeremy McNichols is not worth a roster spot, despite some explosive ability. His volume is not enough.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. Missed Week 15 with Groin Injury
Rodriguez Jr. may have missed Week 15, but his injury is deemed non-serious. Groin injuries are common for Running Backs. It appears that Rodriguez Jr. is very likely to return to action in Week 16. He will be the lead-back.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.