In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked about fan excitement about young players and interest in the return of players in a ‘contract year’.
You can see the results of the first question about young players here:
It’s probably not surprising that fans feel the keenest interest in the two drafted rookies as opposed to any of the returning 2nd year players. What may be a bit surprising, however, might be the level of intrigue related to the team’s 7th round pick (254th overall), RB Bill Croskey-Merritt, who out-polled the 4th round receiver & punt returner, Jaylin Lane.
There wasn’t a big difference at 28% and 25% respectively, but the buzz surrounding the former Alabama State/New Mexico/Arizona running back who has logged only 13 rushing attempts since the end of the 2023 season is definitely creating strong Mason-Brennan preseason hype feels.
Croskey-Merritt will be fighting to break into a running back room that returns all of the players who were on the roster in 2024 — Brian Robinson, Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, Chris Rodriguez and Michael Wiley. The rookie will need to have a very good training camp to break into the 53-man roster.
I was also interested to see the results of the second question, which asked which player currently on track for free agency in 2026 fans most wanted to see return to the team.
The one veteran player on the list who hasn’t yet played a snap for the team — Deebo Samuel — ran away with the vote, more than doubling the vote tally for the next player on the list, QB Marcus Mariota.
Deebo Samuel got 28% of the vote in this survey of Hogs Haven readers. Players frequently cited as instrumental in the success of the 2024 Commanders — Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler, all polled below 20%, with two of those players actually finishing with single-digit totals.
There’s no real mystery about the reason for that. Wagner and Ekeler will each be 36 years old in 2026, while Ekeler will be 31, which is roughly 49 years old in running back years.
Clearly, a lot of hope and expectation is tied up in Deebo for 2025 with fans aiming for a successful season for the former 49er that would justify a return to Washington on a new contract in 2026.
Selected comments from the survey article:
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