"Croskey-Merritt might ultimately prove to be just as good as advertised, but early on, the typical message to fans is that maybe they need to slow their roll. After seeing what Croskey-Merritt did against the New York Giants and their very solid run defense, maybe we can actually speed that roll up. He scored his first NFL touchdown. He secured 82 rushing yards on just 10 carries. Even excluding his late 42-yard scamper, he still averaged almost 4.5 yards per carry on his other runs."
"For his efforts, Croskey-Merritt graded out as Pro Football Focus' second-best running back of Week 1, trailing only Breece Hall of the New York Jets. As a pure runner - excluding grades for receiving and blocking - the Commanders' rookie was the best in the league, by a very wide margin. His 83.9 rushing grade dwarfed Travis Etienne Jr.'s second-place 76.8. It was just one game. Croskey-Merritt will not sustain an 8.2 rushing average throughout the year."
"Austin Ekeler remains a valuable weapon. He had several tough runs against the Giants. His first down conversion on 2nd-and-15 midway through the fourth quarter showed just how dangerous he is running screens and circle routes out of the backfield. Ekeler accounted for 57 yards on his nine touches. That came in at a very respectable 6.3 yards on average."
Jacory Croskey-Merritt produced 82 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored his first NFL touchdown, including a long 42-yard run. Excluding the long run, he averaged nearly 4.5 yards per carry on his other attempts. Pro Football Focus rated him the second-best running back of Week 1 and the top pure runner with an 83.9 rushing grade. Sustaining an 8.2 rushing average is unlikely, but the performance supports considering him as the Commanders' primary early-down back. Austin Ekeler remains valuable in the passing game but should be preserved for passing downs and red zone work.
Read at Riggo's Rag
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