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While the Washington Commanders enjoy their first-round draft pick, they are still trying to sort out the Terry McLaurin situation. Also, here is the biggest surprise from the Commanders’ first unofficial depth chart of the 2025 NFL season.
Because of the progression of the Commanders during the 2024 season, they entered this offseason with more stability on the roster. That’s especially true after they acquired Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil.
So the first official release of the team’s depth chart wasn’t going to be frontloaded with surprises. However, there is one thing that deserves a closer look.
It makes sense from one direction. Croskey-Merritt was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. So whatever he gets, he will have to earn.
That means he started the summer behind guys like Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr. Of course, he’s also behind starter Brian Robinson Jr. and backup Austin Ekeler.
However, it’s a little surprising because the season is drawing closer. And some people believe Croskey-Merritt will make the 53-man roster and be a significant backup. He has been one of the Commanders’ biggest surprises this summer, according to commanders.com.
“There has been a lot of hype surrounding seventh-round running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt,” Zach Selby wrote. “There’s a lot to like about him; he’s quick, decisive, and can burst through running lanes. It’s been a while since he’s played in a meaningful game, but it didn’t appear as if he’s lost a step during OTAs and minicamp.”
Croskey-Merritt has made an impression on head coach Dan Quinn, even though it’s not the full picture, according to commanderswire.com.
“Yeah, at that position, like I said, it’s a hard one to evaluate in non-pads because you don’t know, did the person make the tackle? Did he break the tackle? And so it’s the offensive line, the defensive line, the running backs are sometimes the hardest,” Quinn said.
And perhaps that feeds into Croskey-Merritt remaining low on the depth chart. Still, the clues may be there already about his impending move to RB3 eventually.
“But what you can evaluate is the explosion on the cut, the assignment, was the read correct?” Quinn said. “Having Anthony (Lynn, running backs coach) here is a really big deal, from a running back standpoint. He’s got so much experience and can give the insight to the players to absolutely get them right.
“But I think it’s the violence of the cuts. That he can get his shoulders square and get downhill fast. So I’m very excited to see, once we get into some opportunities. Does he get tackled? [Or] does he not? Does he run through some? But he’s off to a really good start.”
The Commanders rarely got explosive plays from the backfield in 2024. If they add that to the offense this year, things could elevate to another level with Jayden Daniels running the show.
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