JCM sees nine carries, two catches in Week 4 loss

Croskey-Merritt logged two limited sessions to begin the week before upgrading to full on Friday. He should be good to go for this normal weekly role. Unfortunately, his workloads have varied, so he is more of an upside FLEX starter than he is an RB2. That said, Jayden Daniels (elbow) is returning this week, which should give the offense an efficiency boost.

He remains on track to play, but the workload he’ll get remains more uncertain after the Commanders re-divvied carries in England last Sunday. Croskey-Merritt would make for a shaky FLEX play in Week 5.

A limited session to start the week is usually a non-issue, but JCM’s role was already suspect before getting banged up. He ran nine times in Week 4. Austin Ekeler, Kaytron Allen, and Craig Reynolds all combined for nine attempts. Rachaad White is also back at practice, giving the team another option beyond Bill. With health and workload concerns, JCM is barely an RB3 headed into Week 5.

He didn’t practice at any point this week after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 3. He has to be considered questionable for Week 5 at this point. ‘Bill’ Croskey-Merritt figures to shoulder the majority of the workload for the Commanders this week and is a reasonable FLEX play against the Colts. Freshly-signed Austin Ekeler figures to handle third-down work.

With two DNPs to start the week, White looks unlikely to suit up for Week 4 against the Colts. Austin Ekeler traveled with the team after signing with the team earlier this week, so he could ultimately take on White’s role. Backup running back Kayton Allen could also see more work, but Jacory Croskey-Merritt remains the clear lead back in Washington for now. He is on the RB2/3 border for Week 4.

It sounds like White will be a question mark headed into Washington’s Week 4 game against the Colts in London. Quinn added that it’s too early to tell whether Austin Ekeler, who signed with the Commanders this week, will be active for Week 4. Jacory Croskey-Merritt could see a significant bump in carries and pass routes — and maybe targets — if White is sidelined this week. JCM, who has 58 percent of the team’s carries through three games, would be a nice flex option in that case.

Croskey-Merritt had a long touchdown run wiped off the board because of an illegal formation. Outside of that, it was a struggle for the 25-year-old against the stout Seattle run defense. The long gain (that counted) was just nine yards. Croskey-Merritt has not found much room to run thus far, and it’s hard to trust him right now. His next chance to find said room comes in Week 4 against the Colts in London.

Croskey-Merritt continues to lead the Commanders’ backfield in rush attempts, but he looked like the less explosive back in this one, averaging just 3.6 YPC with his longest gain coming on a nine-yard carry. He hauled in his lone target on the day for a five-yard gain, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Rachaad White got more involved in the offense after totaling 83 yards from scrimmage on his 13 touches. Even if he does operate as the lead back next week, Croskey-Merritt will be hard to trust against a physical Seahawks defense.

Allen practiced in full all week, so there are no concerns about his current status. Last week, starting RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt fumbled late in the game and was yanked for the final eight plays. Last Man Standig’s Ben Standig notes, Allen “handled the final three handoffs, and Rachaad White was a potential safety valve” for the Commanders’ two-point attempt. Allen is worth stashing on benches in 12-team leagues.

“Bill” handled 59.3 percent of RB carries for the Commanders in this one. He saw two of his carries go for 10-plus yards on the day, but in large, Croskey-Merritt was held in check by the Eagles, as 11 of his attempts went for three yards or less. Croskey-Merritt found the end zone on a one-yard plunge late in the second quarter, but also nearly lost a fumble in the fourth quarter when the Commanders were attempting to tie the game. Fantasy managers hoping for an increased role in the passing game can find some hope in the fact that JCM’s 14 routes run were only one fewer than Rachaad White (15), per TruMedia, but White was the preferred option on third/fourth down by a wide margin. Croskey-Merritt will have plenty of RB3/FLEX appeal in next week’s game against the Cowboys.