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Is Chris Rodriguez the starting RB for the Commanders now? With Jacory Croskey-Merritt's struggles, John breaks down Chris Rodriguez's fantasy football outlook heading into Week 10 of 2025.
Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez had his best game of the season in Week 9, rushing 12 times for 64 yards and a touchdown in the blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Meanwhile, rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merrit, the starter up to this point, struggled yet again. He averaged under 3.6 yards per carry, failed to score a touchdown, and didn't have more than 6.0 PPR fantasy points for the fourth straight game.
Croskey-Merritt has been a complete non-factor over the past four weeks. It's been so bad that he's actively dragging down the effectiveness of his team at this point. Does this mean he's being benched for Rodriguez, though? Let's dive in.
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Is Chris Rodriguez Jr. The RB1 For The Commanders?
At this current moment, no, but it might not be much time before the Commanders make a change if they actually want to try to have a ground game. JCM has been a net negative to the team with the ball in his hands the past four weeks.
There are a lot of problems with his game. While he's shifty with the ball in his hands, his biggest problem is that he simply doesn't run with much power. It's an athletic limitation that can be killer for running backs that don't possess elite speed (hint: he does not).
Jacory Croskey-Merritt AKA "Bill" 16 TOUCHES, 150 YDS, 2 TDs, 7.9 YPC vs LAC Today, Week 5. https://t.co/G2bWb7uYAo pic.twitter.com/XPayJcnfdw
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) October 5, 2025
In hindsight, we now know that the Los Angeles Chargers have a horrible run defense. They've allowed 4.9 yards per carry, the sixth-highest in the league, and were repeatedly gashed by multiple RBs this season. You can see an absurd amount of space to run in the highlight reel JCM had from that game above.
Pretty much any running back would have had a big day with those holes to run through. Rodriguez, for example. But it's hard to say whether the Commanders want to give up on "Bill" yet. We haven't heard anything about him getting benched.
It seem like they want to stubbornly move forward with an underperforming seventh-round rookie for now.
Chris Rodriguez Fantasy Football Outlook
Right now, he's little more than a handcuff, and there are a lot of problems even if he gets the starting job. RB Jeremy McNichols is the team's best pass-blocking running back, and he's taken most of the obvious passing down work, meaning that even if C-Rod were to get the start, he'd have limited upside.
Let's say he's slightly better than JCM. In that case, he'd have to get touchdowns and high rushing volume to be fantasy-relevant if he didn't get much of a pass-catching role, which seems to be the case. It would be hard to trust starting him in any fantasy leagues.
The more likely scenario here is that the Commanders are a terrible team to have fantasy football players in. With their starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels (elbow), set to miss significant time, and their best WR, Terry McLaurin (quad) struggling with injuries this year, we could see a full collapse by this offense.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. rips off a 49-yard run for the @Commanders
WASvsATL on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/z875X7V00w
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
He's had some big plays this year, and is clearly the better tackle-breaker between he and JCM. But that doesn't mean he'll take over the starting job, and even if he does, that doesn't mean he'll be elite in fantasy football.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 10 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Quentin Johnston, J.K. Dobbins, Tre Tucker. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 10. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Popular Week 10 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 10 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 10 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 10 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Quentin Johnston, J.K. Dobbins, Tre Tucker compared to others:
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