Who Is Jacory Croskey-Merritt? Meet “Bill”

Perhaps nobody has gotten the training camp buzz Jacory Croskey-Merritt has over the past week or two. The last running back selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, Washington’s 7th-round rookie has allegedly looked shifty and explosive in camp, even earning some first-team reps. 

Per Commanders beat writer Zach Selby, “Croskey-Merritt worked with the starting offense on Thursday, as the offense emphasized their run game for several 11-on-11 periods. While it isn't unusual for players from the 2nd and 3rd groups to get some time with the starting offense, some of Croskey-Merritt's best reps on the day came during that portion of practice. He broke loose for a big run down the left sideline and showed impressive vision as he cut through defenders on a run up the middle.”

Radio personality Grant Paulsen visited Commanders training camp and asked reporters which player impressed them the most throughout camp. Four of the six interviewees chose Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and one of the two who didn’t pick him made sure to mention JCM after discussing his standout selection, CB Mike Sainristil. One of the reporters who picked Croskey-Merritt, Rick Snider, went as far as saying JCM will be Washington’s starting running back by December.

Consider me intrigued.

Admittedly, when the buzz first started, I had no idea who Jacory Croskey-Merritt was, and several of my go-to research sources had nothing on him either. After all, he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine (more on that later). So, naturally, I scoured the internet for every relevant piece of info on “Bill”, who I have now come to believe is one of the best late-round dart throws in fantasy football. With every piece of information I uncovered, my conviction grew stronger. 

Today, I’m going to share everything I’ve learned with you, covering why JCM’s combination of talent, opportunity, and cost make him an essential end-of-draft flier in 2025.

Meet “Little Bill”

To kick things off, yes, Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s nickname is “Bill”. He tells the story that as a kid, he had a shaved, bald head, so his friends called him “Little Bill” in reference to the cartoon character. 

“Bill” was a zero-star recruit from Montgomery, Alabama who played at Alabama State for 4 seasons, then New Mexico, and then Arizona. Which brings me to the whole reason he didn’t get an NFL Combine invite - he played just ONE game at Arizona in his final season of college football. 

Basically, he was shut down for the 2024 season due to eligibility issues surrounding his freshman redshirt season at Alabama State. Long story short, JCM played in just 4 games at Alabama State in 2019, and then gave his jersey number to a teammate for the remainder of the season. However, due to a clerical error, official statistics for those games that JCM did not play in (Alabama State coaches provided evidence of this), were incorrectly attributed to Croskey-Merritt, deeming him ineligible to redshirt. As a result of growing concern surrounding his 2024 eligibility, Bill was shut down by Arizona after just one game in order to prevent potential win forfeiture or other discipline by the NCAA. Crazy freaking story.

It’s worth noting, however, that in his one game as a Wildcat, Croskey-Merritt had 13 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown - and he forced 7 missed tackles, per PFF.

Despite being ruled ineligible to play in his final college season, Bill stuck around and played on Arizona’s scout team all year. Commanders Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury believes that decision showcases JCM’s love of the game. Earlier this week, he said, “Bill loves football, competes, and is very explosive. He got ruled ineligible at Arizona and stayed and played scout team the whole year, which is like, nobody would do that, so that tells you right there the type of passion he has for, and it shows up. That was an exciting kind of pick for us…There's no doubt Bill's had some good flashes for a young guy.”

After his final season was all but lost to that dumbfounding clerical error, Croskey-Merritt made his mark at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he was named MVP after logging an 11 carry, 97 yard, 2TD statline. Additionally, per CJay of Roto Street Journal, he had the fastest deceleration ever recorded at the Shrine Bowl (-7.29 yds/sec²), pointing to JCM’s elite ability to stop on a dime.

Similarly, Relative Athletic Score, a metric created by Kent Lee Platte that gauges a player’s athletic abilities relative to the position they play, graded Croskey-Merritt’s Speed and Explosion as “Elite”. JCM scored an 8.29 RAS out of a possible 10.00, which ranks 362 out of 2106 running backs from 1987 to 2025. His RAS Comps, per the database, include Breece Hall, CJ Spiller, and Jaylen Wright - some very exciting names!

CBS Sports’ Lead NFL Draft Analyst, Mike Renner, really liked Croskey-Merritt as a prospect, comparing him to Felix Jones on the Establish The Run podcast. Renner noted that “Little” Bill was just 165 lbs coming out of high school as a pure space back. Now, he weighs in at 206 lbs as a more well-rounded runner, pointing to his continued evolution as a player.

Renner is one of many analysts who believed Croskey-Merritt to be undervalued entering the draft. NFL Dot Com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein graded JCM (6.18) as the 8th-best running back prospect in this loaded RB class, ahead of RJ Harvey (5.96), Cam Skattebo (6.16), Jarquez Hunter (6.12), Jaydon Blue (6.11), D.J. Giddens (5.97), and others. Bill’s 6.18 grade fell into Zierlein’s “good backup with the potential to develop into starter” bucket, and he projected Croskey-Merritt to go in Round 5. 

Eye-Popping Advanced Metrics

While the eligibility snafu certainly tanked Croskey-Merritt’s draft stock all the way down to the 7th Round, his advanced metrics when on the field were impressive. Per Faraz Siddiqi of Upper Hand Fantasy, here’s how he performed among 857 FBS RBs with 200+ carries since 2014, per PFF:

• After Contact Rate: 95th percentile 

• Missed Tackle Rate: 98th percentile 

• Breakaway Run Rate: 97th percentile 

If you want to filter out the Alabama State seasons, here’s how Croskey-Merritt’s 2023-2024 seasons at New Mexico (and Arizona, for all of one game) ranked among the 25 running backs in the 2025 RB Class, per Jacob Gibbs:

• Avoided Tackle Rate - RB4

• Rushing Success Rate - RB3

• Yards Per Rush - RB4

• Yards After Contact Per Rush - RB8

• Explosive Rush Rate - RB2

• First Downs Per Rush - RB2

Considering the strength of this year’s running back class, the above finishes are notable. And while Croskey-Merritt is an older rookie at age 24 and had just 34 receptions across his college career, his explosive, big-play profile is the type of upside swing I like to take late in my fantasy drafts. The bet becomes even more appealing when you consider the lack of elite competition in Washington’s backfield.

JCM Has A Path to Opportunity 

Both Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler are entering the final year of their contracts this season, meaning Washington could be looking to find their running back of the future. While Brian Robinson is slated to be the lead back in this offense in 2025, he is serviceable, not special. Austin Ekeler, a weapon in the pass game, is past his prime as he enters his age 30 season. History tells us that if we want to take a late-round flier on a rookie running back selected on Day 3 of the NFL Draft, we want to be targeting backs in situations like Bill’s.

Per JJ Zachariason’s Late Round Draft Guide, of the 11 Day 3 running backs since 2011 to provide fantasy managers with a substantial amount of usability as rookies, none of them had a running back teammate drafted in the top-12 at the position by ADP. Additionally, just two of them had a running back teammate selected in the top-25 at the position.

Check, check. Croskey-Merritt is good to go on both fronts, as Robinson (RB29) and Ekeler (RB45) both fall outside of those ranges, per FantasyPros PPR ADP.

Moreover, you couldn’t have drawn up a better landing spot scheme-wise for JCM.

Inside Zone Scheme: The Perfect Fit

Per Jacob Gibbs, 51% of Croskey-Merritt's collegiate attempts came on inside zone runs, the 2nd-highest rate in this class behind RJ Harvey (61%). Bill’s 7.2 yards per inside zone run ranked as the highest in the class, narrowly beating out Harvey's 6.8-yard average.

Gibbs went on to note that Kliff Kingsbury and the Commanders ran inside zone on RB runs at the 3rd-highest rate in the league last season (35%). Moreover, 88% of Washington’s RB runs came from the shotgun, the highest rate in the league. Gibbs notes that Croskey-Merritt ran almost exclusively out of the gun in college. Could you dream up a better fit?

Ideal Offensive Environment

With Jayden Daniels’ mobility posing a constant threat to defenses, Croskey-Merritt’s playmaking abilities could quickly make themselves known. Ben Gretch of Stealing Signals noted when discussing JCM that “Daniels’ speed to the edge and the perimeter passing game keep interior rushing lanes open, which allows for the explosive runs that a guy would probably need to stack to have big upside here.”

Per the Washington Post, Daniels himself likes what he sees from Bill: “He’s really good with his one-cut and getting north and south, his vision...He’s coming along. I’m excited to see what he does going forward.”

In addition to the ideal scheme fit, this is an offensive environment worth throwing a late-round dart at. Based on lookahead lines, the Commanders have the 5th-highest implied points per game, per Adam Levitan of Establish The Run. 

Asymmetric Upside

Look, I get it. No matter how exciting Croskey-Merritt’s profile is, it’s still a longshot. 7th-round running backs rarely produce in a big way for fantasy, let alone in their rookie seasons. 

However, Jacory Croskey-Merritt is completely free in season-long drafts right now. Per FantasyPros PPR ADP, he’s going as the RB60 at 213 overall. If he doesn’t pan out, well, most of the guys going in that range will soon be gathering dust on waivers anyways.

Worst case, your end of bench stash doesn’t pan out. Best case, you read this article, subscribed to Moves, and drafted the next Kyren Williams. 

Given Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s strong talent profile, path to opportunity on an awesome offense, and free price tag at the end of drafts, it’s time to get Bill on your fantasy rosters.