RADIO
Is Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Rachaad White the Commanders' starting running back? Should I draft Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Rachaad White for fantasy football drafts?
The Washington Commanders backfield is one of the most discussed among the fantasy football community. While Jacory Croskey-Merritt took many of the opportunities in 2025, Chris Rodriguez Jr. emerged as a potential late-season waiver wire option following the rookie's struggles.
However, with Rodriguez leaving the team in free agency and being replaced by Rachaad White, one of the game's most productive pass-catching options at the position, this backfield is difficult to project heading into 2026.
Who should fantasy managers draft from this backfield this season? Who will provide the most fantasy value? Let's dive in!
Editor's Note: The FFPC Baby Gorilla Tournament is now open, featuring a $100,000 grand prize and a $675,450 total prize pool! This 12-team, Tight End Premium contest uses a 20-round draft format, with the overall winners determined by total points scored during Weeks 15–17. Get $25 to use toward your first entry by signing up through our link. Grab your team now! Sign Up Now!
Jacory Croskey-Merritt 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook
Croskey-Merritt emerged as a major training camp riser last summer. Given that Washington lacked a proven early-down option, Croskey-Merritt quickly claimed that role while Austin Ekeler served as the change-of-pace option. The seventh-rounder out of Arizona quickly flashed upside, totaling 82 yards and a score in his NFL debut.
After a few quiet efforts, he would enjoy an impressive two-touchdown 111-yard effort in Week 5, which put him back on the fantasy radar. However, following the injury to Jayden Daniels, the entire Washington offense took a major step back down the stretch.
As a result, from Weeks 6 through 14, Croskey-Merritt took a major step back. During this noted eight-game stretch, the rookie would average a disappointing 4.0 PPR points per game while totaling just 33.4 rushing yards per game.
While he began to show flashes down the stretch (totaling more than 15.0 PPR points per game in two of his last four), Croskey-Merritt's inconsistency raised concerns about his profile heading into the 2026 season.
Despite this, the Commanders did not make any major improvements to their backfield, adding only White (a primary pass-catcher) and drafting Kaytron Allen in the sixth round. As a result, Croskey-Merritt will be given an opportunity to claim this lead job to begin the regular season.
In training camp, reports have suggested that Croskey-Merritt has taken strides to improve his passing-game production and has even "bulked up" relative to his rookie status.
However, fantasy managers should monitor his status, as he is nursing a groin injury. While he is currently working on a side practice field (suggesting it is relatively minor), any type of setback could clear the path for White to take on a larger role early in the season.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (lower body) continues to work back from his injury according to Commanders HC Dan Quinn, but is practicing in at least limited fashion today. pic.twitter.com/T7ZZSQoIl6
— David Harrison (@DHarrison82) August 25, 2026
Rachaad White 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook
White joined the Commanders on a one-year contract in the offseason. While he was not given a massive salary, that does not suggest he will not play a major role in this offense.
After struggling from an inefficiency standpoint in his career (averaging less than 4.0 YPC in his first two seasons). He has since averaged much higher, 4.3 YPC in each of his last two campaigns. In 2025, White took 132 attempts for 572 yards and four rushing scores.
Through the air, White brought in 40 passes for 218 yards. Even though that was a drop from the 393 yards and six touchdowns he tallied as a receiver the year prior, he continued to see consistent snaps in passing situations.
Joining the Commanders, White is slated to replace Ekeler, who operated as the change-of-pace option in D.C. during his tenure. While Ekeler only appeared in two games in 2025, he caught an impressive 35 passes in 2024, serving as a safety valve for Daniels.
Throughout OTAs and training camp, the coaching staff has spoken quite highly of White and has even declared him a "winner" of the early OTAs. Despite this, they opted not to declare a true starting running back and have still yet to do so.
Who Should You Draft in 2026 Fantasy Football?
Current reports suggest that this backfield is likely tending toward a committee approach. Croskey-Merritt projects to be the favorite to see more touches as a "rusher", putting him in a prime spot to see the early-down work and the high-value touches near the goal line.
As a result, White is slated to operate primarily as a third-down option, but that may not lower his fantasy value as much as it appears on the surface. Despite operating primarily as a third-down option in 2024, Ekeler found success in Washington, finishing the season as the RB31 in terms of FPTS/G (PPR), making him a viable FLEX option in most 12-team leagues that have larger rosters.
In fact, Ekeler drew 3.4 targets per game and saw 4.0 targets or more in seven games that season (including the postseason).
As a result, those in PPR formats should feel comfortable selecting White as a depth option for their roster. While he may not see consistent options on the ground, White could provide a safe floor in the receiving game, given the addition of Stefon Diggs.
The Commanders will be without star left tackle Laremy Tunsil, which will likely force Daniels to look to White as a check-down, especially if he faces consistent pressure.
However, for those looking for the upside play in this backfield, Croskey-Merritt should be the preferred target. Even though his rookie campaign was not the most consistent, he showed flashes of high-end upside at times and could thrive with Daniels fully healthy.
Additionally, the previous reports of Croskey-Merritt's strides as a pass catcher could open the door for an even safer floor on a weekly basis. While he may open the season as a low-end RB2, Croskey-Merritt has the path to emerge as a weekly option if he were to emerge as a consistent every-down option.
Fantasy managers should continue to keep a close eye on their usage over the final weeks of training camp in case one begins to truly emerge as the starting option.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt at the Top of Commanders Running Back Depth Chart? https://t.co/8z6nRUsVoP
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 19, 2026
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
Read more about the free Who Should I Draft tool here.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with bye weeks, stats, and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and updates them constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Chig Okonkwo, Kaytron Allen:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
