How good is Jacory Croskey-Merritt, really?

June 16, 2025

by Steve Thomas

It isn’t exactly breaking news to suggest that the Redskins’ the Washington Football Team’s the Commanders’ Washington’s running back room is . . . less than ideal.  None of the team’s running backs inspire confidence that they will end up turning the team’s non-Jayden Daniels ground game into a positive, game-changing aspect of the offense.  Enter Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who was brought in courtesy of a 7th round draft pick, in order hopefully help rectify the situation.  Some fans are hopeful that he can be the missing piece for Washington’s running back group.  Can he be the solution?  How good is he, really?

Croskey-Merritt, who is 5’11” and 208 pounds, spent a total of 5 years in college, including 4 seasons at Alabama St from 2019 – 2022, at which point he transferred to New Mexico for the 2023 season, then transferred again to Arizona for 2024.  In total, he played in 39 games for all three teams, and had 558 carries for 2549 yards, for 4.6 yards per carry, and 31 touchdowns.  His receiving contributions were fairly minimal, including a total of 40 receptions for 429 yards, for 10.7 yards per reception, and 2 touchdowns.

It is important to note that Croskey-Merritt only played one game for Arizona in 2024, which was the first game of the season.  The NCAA prohibited him from finishing the season as a result of an eligibility dispute.  The NCAA concluded that his 2019 freshman year at Alabama St. actually was not a redshirt year as it was originally characterized, thereby making him ineligible for the 2024 season with Arizona.  As a result, he was unable to prove much last season, which almost certainly effected his draft status.

In his one game last season, he had 13 carries for 106 yards, 8.2 yards per carry, and 1 touchdown.  In 2023 for New Mexico, he played in 12 games, and had 189 carries for 1190 yards, 6.3 yards per carry, and 17 touchdowns, plus 7 receptions for 72 yards, 10.3 yards per reception, and 1 touchdown.

Croskey-Merritt did not participate in the NFL Combine but ran the 40 yard dash in 4.45 seconds at his pro day.

I did not do one of my normal, full film evaluations for this column; however, I did watch 4 games, including (1) New Mexico St. at New Mexico, game 3 of the 2023 season, September 16, 2023, in which he had 16 carries for 83 yards, 5.2 yards per carry, (2) New Mexico at Boise St., game 10 of the 2023 season, November 11, 2011, in which he had 15 carries for 73 yards, 4.9 yards per carry, (3) Utah St. at New Mexico, game 11 of the 2023 season, November 24, 2023, in which he had 31 carries for 233 yards, 7.5 yards per carry, and (4) New Mexico at Arizona, game 1 of the 2024 season, August 31, 2024, in which Croskey-Merritt played for Arizona and had 13 carries for 106 yards, 8.2 yards per carry.

For the record, his best two games in 2023 were week 12 against Fresno St., in which he had 21 carries for 209 yard, 10 yards per carry, and 2 touchdowns, and week 13 against Utah St.  I selected New Mexico St., Boise St., and the 2024 Arizona game in addition to Utah St. in order to provide some “middle of the road” perspective on his performance.

The first thing to understand is that Croskey-Merritt is not really an inside power back.  His speed allows him to effectively hit the edges when necessary.  His 4.45 40 yard dash time does translate to the field very well.  He is also elusive, at least at the Mountain West level, and can at times make moves on defenders.  Croskey-Merritt can identify holes and take advantage of what’s available.  There were times when he was able to break tackles and make more of an opportunity than what was originally available; however, that was a rare occasion, at least in the three non-Utah St. games I watched.  What was more common on his bigger gains were poor defenses featuring huge, wide-open gaps and bad tackling.  Several of those plays were situations of which any respectable running back could have taken advantage.  I only saw a handful of plays in which he created his opportunities.  Croskey-Merritt was not used as a feature back in any game except Utah St. – both New Mexico and Arizona used multiple backs throughout the games, so Croskey-Merritt did not have the entire ground game hanging on his performance.

His natural athleticism and ability to cut are his strengths and could make him a quality zone runner.  Croskey-Merritt uses his speed well.  He won’t be a one trick pony in the NFL, and his presence in the game will not automatically convey a particular play.  He’s mostly a downhill, one-cut runner.  Croskey-Merritt will be an asset in both inside, A gap plays and runs to the edge.  He is quick to see holes and take advantage of them.  Croskey-Merritt isn’t going to often run over NFL defenders, but he’s capable of using his athleticism and ability to cut to make yardage.  It wasn’t apparent from the film that I watched why his teams did not involve him in the passing game.  If he has bad hands, that wasn’t evident in the games I studied.

On the other hand, I saw a running back who, in part, achieved better statistics as a result of the poor defenses opposing him.  Time after time, Croskey-Merritt was able to take advantage of either wide open holes or poor tackling, to his credit.  The problem is that these sort of opportunities existed in Mountain West games and aren’t typically a part of the NFL game.  While Croskey-Merritt does have natural talent and abilities, I didn’t see much evidence that he ever overcame the sort of tough run defenses that he will face at the professional level.  I saw very limited instances of him creating yardage in tough conditions.  Time after time, Croskey-Merritt either ran through huge gaps, benefitted from poor tackling, or was stopped in the backfield.  The fact that his best year was in the Mountain West against a string of mediocre at best defenses matters.  A full year at Arizona would’ve been a big help.  I did not see him as a big asset as a pass blocker.  He’ll need development in that area; in fact, I think he was mostly a negative in that regard.  I view him as strictly a first and second down player, at least early in his NFL career.

Croskey-Merritt’s other problem is not only that he hasn’t played in a year, but also the fact that he’ll be a 24 year old rookie with 5 full years and 558 carries under his belt.  I don’t know how those issues will affect him; we’ll see.

I think that Croskey-Merritt could have a future in the NFL, but right now, his college experience doesn’t give me the impression that he’s going to develop into a feature back.  He will most likely start his career as a player who can contribute in limited carries as a part of a running back team.  If he ends up becoming Washington’s answer to their running back problem, it will be because he has outplayed his collegiate experience.  That having been said, he’s definitely worthy of a 7th round pick – stranger things have happened than for a running back to come out of nowhere to excel.  Let’s hope Croskey-Merritt is one of them.

What are your thoughts?  Let me know in the comment section below.