We’ve seen it before: Kyren Williams slid to the fifth round because of size and speed concerns, yet became a workhorse for the Rams. Tyrone Tracy converted from wide receiver to running back late in his college career, entered the league with doubts, and still carved out meaningful touches as a rookie. 

In 2025, it’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt, also known as Bill. Officially, he is a seventh-round pick, but in reality, he is the reason Washington moved on from Brian Robinson Jr., and his arrival has reshaped the Commanders’ backfield heading into the season.

Croskey-Merritt’s fall to the seventh round wasn’t about talent — it was about an eligibility tangle that cost him almost an entire season of football. After transferring to Arizona, he opened the year with a strong performance — over 100 rushing yards and a touchdown in the opener — but was immediately sidelined. The NCAA flagged discrepancies dating back to his Alabama State days in 2019, when confusion over his redshirt year and the use of his jersey number by another player caused uncertainty in his records. Arizona, not wanting to risk sanctions, held him out of competition while the matter was reviewed.

As a result, Croskey-Merritt practiced with the team but was kept off the field for most of the season. The lost year made him older than many of his draft peers and left NFL evaluators with outdated game tape — and against tougher competition than he would have faced had he played a full season at Arizona in 2024. To front offices, he looked like a risk. The truth is, the issue was clerical, not athletic. His size, burst, and downhill running style were still there on film, just from 2023 when he played at New Mexico. He was discounted on draft day for reasons that had nothing to do with his ability on the field.

The Brian Robinson Jr. trade wasn’t just about moving off a player for the Commanders; it was about clearing the runway for Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Washington’s backfield now looks very different. Robinson Jr. had been the steady, reliable early-down grinder. With him gone, the team is left with a mix of complementary pieces — and Croskey-Merritt as the potential heir to that volume role.

The names ahead of him aren’t insurmountable. In Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez, there’s no entrenched first-rounder or proven workhorse blocking his path. Instead, the Commanders have situational backs and journeymen who fit specialized roles: pass-catching specialists, short-yardage backs, or special-teams contributors. Croskey-Merritt, by contrast, is built to handle the dirty work between the tackles, grind out first downs, and keep the chains moving.

That context matters for dynasty managers. He’s not buried behind a superstar; he’s staring at a depth chart wide open for a physical, downhill runner to emerge. Washington’s decision to part ways with Robinson Jr. should be read as a vote of confidence in Croskey-Merritt, not just as a front office shuffle. For 2025 and beyond, he looks like the back best positioned to seize meaningful work for the Commanders.

Dynasty managers should approach Croskey-Merritt with realistic expectations for his rookie season. The Brian Robinson Jr. trade creates opportunity, but it doesn’t automatically mean he’ll be featured from day one. The truth is, he has played just one game of competitive football since 2023, and Washington’s staff is likely to bring him along gradually.

In the early part of the season, expect Croskey-Merritt to be used primarily as a between-the-20s runner. His size and decisiveness make him a natural fit for handling early-down work. He may not see heavy usage in passing situations or dominate red-zone carries right away, but his ability to keep the offense on schedule will get him on the field.

As the season progresses, his role could expand. If he proves reliable in limited touches, Washington has every reason to increase his workload and lean on him more heavily down the stretch. For dynasty purposes, the key is patience: Croskey-Merritt may start the year in a rotational role, but his long-term upside is much bigger than his early usage might suggest.

The Croskey-Merritt conversation has evolved quickly. Not long ago, he was a fourth-round rookie pick or a speculative stash you could scoop off waivers. Now, after a strong camp and the Brian Robinson Jr. trade, his price has jumped across dynasty leagues. It’s not unusual to see him flipped straight up for second-round rookie picks in 2026 drafts.

The surface-level logic makes sense: cash in while his value is hot, turn an unknown into a more stable asset, and recycle into another rookie pick. But that line of thinking misses what makes late-round running backs valuable in the first place. The entire reason you stash players like Croskey-Merritt is the chance that one of them breaks through. Well, this one did. He went from a seventh-rounder with eligibility baggage to a clear part of Washington’s plans — and you want to sell that for another scratch-off? In my opinion, that’s not a great dynasty process.

Think of it this way: dynasty titles are rarely won by stockpiling second-round rookie picks. They’re won by hitting on cheap assets who find opportunity and then produce at the right time. Kyren Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Puka Nacua were all “sell highs” once upon a time, but the managers who held them got the production that picks alone can’t guarantee — and usually can’t replicate. I’m not saying Croskey-Merritt will become the value those players are now, but the process of a late-round rookie pick or waiver-wire stash becoming valuable is something we should strive to keep and build dynasty rosters around, not always sell as soon as you can acquire more than what you paid.

That doesn’t mean you should be blind to market value. If someone in your league is willing to pay a future first-rounder, maybe you take it depending on your team construct. But the typical offers — a second-round pick or a young depth piece elsewhere — don’t measure up to what Croskey-Merritt already represents: a rookie running back with size, a role, and a front office that just cleared his path. Those types of assets are much rarer than people admit.

So, the strategy is simple: hold unless you’re blown away. He’s not the kind of player you cycle out for another long shot. He’s the kind of player you stash, wait on, and potentially plug in when the opportunity widens. In dynasty, patience with backs like this often separates contenders from rebuilders. Croskey-Merritt is already paying off the bet you made when you picked him up — don’t cash out early just to spin the wheel again.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a reminder of how fragile the draft process can be. A clerical eligibility issue dropped him from a potential mid-round prospect to a seventh-round afterthought, but now the Commanders are betting on him to handle meaningful work. He’s a back with fresh legs, a power-running style, and at some point may be the feature running back on a top-five NFL offense.

This isn’t about chasing hype; it’s about recognizing opportunity. Croskey-Merritt won’t be handed the job overnight, but he’s in the right place at the right time — and those are the bets that matter in dynasty.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt is exactly the kind of running back who can swing dynasty leagues if the door opens, and selling him now for a second-round pick means giving away the payoff you were stashing for all along.