How To Handle The Washington Commanders Running Backs For Fantasy Football
Ian Hartitz analyzes the Washington Commanders running back situation, and whether anyone can emerge from this committee backfield.
The Jacory Croskey-Merritt story was such fun last summer. He asked media members to call him Bill, and more than a few NFL Draft experts saw him as a sleeper for the coming season because of his college production. Then the season happened, and a who lotta meh. Sure, there were the pair of 100-yard games, but other than that, not much. Can he rise out of an RB committee to be the lead back? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Washington Commanders Team Preview.
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Who is even the leader of this muddled running back room?
- RB1: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB38 in Fantasy Life ranks)
- RB2: Rachaad White (RB40)
- RB3: Kaytron Allen (RB53)
- RB4: Jerome Ford
- RB5: Jeremy McNichols
- RB6: Robert Henry Jr.
There was hope that the Commanders would manage to land stud Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love with the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but they never got the opportunity, and now we have probably, no, DEFINITELY, the single-most muddled backfield situation in the league.
So now for everyone's favorite game: Choose your (committee RB) fighter!
Contender No. 1 Jacory Croskey-Merritt: Credit to the artist known as Bill for averaging the NFL's 12th-most rushing yards over expected per carry as a rookie (Next-Gen Stats) and for ranking eighth in rushing success rate. He flashed at various moments in 2025—namely in an early-season matchup against the Chargers and in his second meeting with the Cowboys in Week 17—but ball-security problems hindered his early-season ascension and overall workload.
Contender No. 2: Rachaad White: Worked as the RB10 and RB23 in PPR points per game as recently as 2023 and 2024. White has caught 205 passes in his four-year career and can do everything pretty well, even if he doesn't exactly possess a singular elite trait. Still, White's one-year, $2 million contract isn't exactly feature-back material.
Contender No. 3: Kaytron Allen: The Nittany Lion formed a one-two punch with Nicholas Singleton for four years in Happy Valley, eventually even ascending into the lead back role. Of course, sixth-round running backs seldom work out in a meaningful way, and Allen profiles as more of a Chris Rodriguez/early-down grinder as opposed to someone likely to fill a three-down workhorse role.
Contender No. 4: Jerome Ford: Peaked with 1,132 yards and 9 scores back in 2023, but steadily lost volume and trust from Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. Ford possesses theoretical three-down ability thanks to his size (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) and receiving skillz (107 career receptions), but, like White, the attached one-year, $1.4 million contract doesn't lend a lot of confidence.
Contender No. 5: Jeremy McNichols: A bit long in the tooth at this point (31 in December), but McNichols deserves credit for averaging 4.9 yards per carry during his two years in Washington (this run was sweet!), and he had 31 targets in 2025—the most among any Washington RB and it wasn't particularly close (Bill was in second with 13). Like with White and Ford: McNichols' one-year, $1.5 million deal doesn't exactly guarantee him a roster spot, let alone a featured role, but don't discount him stealing away fantasy-friendly pass-down work from this group.
Contender No. 6: Robert Henry Jr.: Normally, we wouldn't even discuss UDFA options, but have you seen this backfield? Anyway, Henry has questionable size (5-foot-9, 196 pounds) and never had more than 169 touches in a season at UTSA, but he did flash against Texas A&M (16-177-2 on the ground) and, given the sad, SAD, state of affairs here, shouldn't be completely dismissed in the competition.
While this situation is admittedly gross, everyone realizes this … which makes all parties involved quite cheap to acquire in fantasy land! Bill (ADP RB37) and White (RB42) deserve to be considered the frontrunners at the moment and are going after the top-50 WRs, top-19 QBs, and top-8 TEs over at Underdog Fantasy. I've been trying to come away with at least one Washington RB in most drafts—more clarity surrounding the pecking order will inevitably result in the leader skyrocketing in ADP come August (kind of like last year!).
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