The Washington Commanders are looking anywhere for help on offense headed into the regular season. No one can say for sure where that help will come from right now.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes it will come out of the backfield and 2nd-year running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a 2025 7th-round pick and the Commanders’ leading returning rusher, who Buckley singled out as the NFL’s top “Hidden Gem” in 2026.
“(Croskey-Merritt) feels like a hidden gem that’s somehow hiding in plain sight,” Buckley wrote on September 1. This offense should be better with a healthy Jayden Daniels back behind the wheel, and everyone will benefit from it. The Commanders struggled to score last season, and Croskey-Merritt still flirted with 1,000 scrimmage yards (873) and double-digit scores (eight) as a seventh-round rookie with almost zero involvement in the passing game (13 targets in 17 games). He could easily clear those thresholds now, and if newcomer Rachaad White eats up a lot of the passing-game work, so be it — those chances already weren’t coming Croskey-Merritt’s way. A reshuffled running back room still features him at the top, and Washington’s new zone-blocking scheme should cater to his strengths.”
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Inconsistent Start to Finish
Croskey-Merritt was thrust into a bigger role than previously anticipated when the Commanders made the head-scratching move to trade Brian Robinson to the San Francisco 49ers before the regular season, Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon early in the season, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury essentially pretended like Chris Rodriguez, who may have been the most talented of the bunch, didn’t exist.
Even with that opportunity in front of him, and even for a rookie, Croskey-Merritt was incredibly inefficient. In 17 games, he had over 50 yards of offense 5 times despite getting at least 10 touches in 10 games.
Commanders Drafted Running Back in 2026
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport thinks the answer in the backfield might come from an entirely different source in 2026 with 6th-round pick Kaytron Allen, who topped B/R’s list of the NFL’s “Most Overlooked” rookie running backs.
“The Commanders have already shown they will hand a large role in the backfield to a rookie,” Davenport wrote on July 16. “Last year, Jacory Croskey-Merritt went from a seventh-round pick to the lead back in the nation’s capital. This isn’t to say Allen will immediately usurp Croskey-Merritt in that role in 2026. But given his punishing running style, it would not be a surprise if Allen eventually claimed a larger share of the workload.”
The Athletic listed Allen as 1 of its “favorite picks” in the entire 2026 NFL draft.
“First-rounder Sonny Styles is the star of Washington’s draft class and will undoubtedly upgrade a defense that needed a leader and playmaker like him,” The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala wrote. “But my favorite Commanders selection was Allen, a durable and powerful runner with good vision and one of the finest nicknames in sports. As he explained: ‘I was a fat baby and everybody in the town called me Fatman. Hopefully, I keep it going in Washington and they call me Fatman and, you know, when I score all you hear is Fatman.’ Yep, the Commanders’ rushing corps will be led by ‘Bill’ and ‘Fatman.’ Giddy up.”
Washington Commanders RB Called NFL’s Top ‘Hidden Gem’