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Last year, the team had two clearly defined roles, a workhorse back that took the bulk of the carries on first and second down, and a third down back that caught passes and was used in pass protection on third downs and other obvious passing situations. Brian Robinson was the top back for the workhorse back role while Austin Ekeler was the top third down back. Jeremy McNichols was the primary back up for both roles initially, but Chris Rodriguez Jr. earned a spot on the roster late in the season and became Robinson’s back up for the workhorse back role.
Assuming the Commanders want to maintain those roles this season, Ekeler and McNichols should largely be the same as the third down backs, with McNichols potentially taking some carries here and there as he did last season. But the bulk of the workload will now fall on either Chris Rodriguez or rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The team could decide to split the workload between them or ride with the hot hand. On Monday night, we got our first glimpse of what that could look like with Chris Rodriguez getting the start ahead of Croskey-Merritt. Rodriguez finished the night with six carries for 62 yards while Croskey-Merritt ran the ball 11 times for 46 yards and a touchdown. Rodriguez got things started with an explosive run
Croskey-Merritt got his chance on the next drive.
Croskey-Merritt’s first run wasn’t quite as explosive as Rodriguez’s run, but it also wasn’t quite as well blocked. The Commanders look to pound the ball inside here, using tight end John Bates to motion across and kick out the defensive end while Josh Conerly works up to the second level from his right tackle spot to block the linebacker. The Bengals have an interesting run fit here. They appear to be stunting the defensive end inside with the linebacker scraping to the edge and the safety working down from deep to replace the linebacker.
Commanders.com
— Quinn also provided some positive news on guard Sam Cosmi. Like McLaurin, he did not provide a target date on when Cosmi would return but did acknowledge the team would need to make a decision soon. Quinn said that Cosmi continues to hit all his markers to get himself ready for an opportunity to get back on the field. Quinn had said earlier in camp that there was a possibility Cosmi could be ready Week 1, but it is likely still too early to make that assessment..
— Quinn did not provide any information on whether the Commanders would play their starters against the Baltimore Ravens in their preseason finale this Saturday. Instead, he said the situation would be more “customized,” meaning that the players who didn’t get many snaps against the Bengals would get more in the third preseason game....
