Jacory Croskey-Merritt given surprising spot on Commanders’ Week 1 depth chart after preseason buzz

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, the Commanders‘ seventh-round rookie running back who gathered plenty of momentum after a strong training camp and preseason, is listed as Washington’s fourth-string running back on the Week 1 depth chart for Sunday’s game against the Giants.

Croskey-Merritt is behind starter Austin Ekeler, second-stringer Jeremy McNichols and third-stringer Chris Rodriguez Jr. The Commanders figure to employ a by-committee approach this season — quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. will see carries as well — after trading Brian Robinson Jr. to the 49ers, a move that piqued interest in Croskey-Merritt.

“We think of an A-back and a B-back, Austin out of the backfield third down,” coach Dan Quinn said. “So, it’s not one size fits all, but I do like the versatility of the room.”

Croskey-Merritt had a 27-yard touchdown run in preseason Week 2 against the Bengals, conveniently right around the time news leaked that the Commanders were shopping Robinson. With neither Robinson nor Ekeler playing in a single preseason game, Rodriguez Jr. also impressed, posting 118 yards on 17 carries (6.9 yards per carry).

“This is a guy who’s changed his body and now, the passing game, he’s more fluid to go into that,” Quinn said. “He’s always been a strong runner. That was Chris coming out from college at Kentucky to here. And you saw that in the way he got his opportunity, some in some four minutes to finish some games, but he’s very consistent in his tracks, in his run game. His elevated conditioning that allows him … now there’s more [opportunities] on punt, there’s more [opportunities] on other spaces, so he’s really, by doing that, giving himself more [opportunities], and he’s off to a good start.”

Ekeler, 30, had 112 touches (77 carries, 35 receptions) last season, his first in Washington.

Another notable aspect of Washington’s depth chart is first-round rookie Josh Conerly Jr. being listed as the team’s starting right tackle. The Oregon product had been rotating with veteran Andrew Wylie but showed significant improvement over the past several weeks. Wylie and Nick Allegretti are listed as co-starters at right guard, where normal starter Sam Cosmi (knee) is on the physically unable to perform list