The term ‘running back by committee’ doesn’t hold much emotional weight for the average NFL fan. Yet, using that term to describe a backfield to a fantasy football enthusiast can trigger a ton of negative emotions like frustration, confusion, and stress.
After a preseason filled with hype surrounding rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, one NFL analyst believes former fantasy football darling Austin Ekeler will be the most productive back from the Washington Commanders‘ backfield in 2025.
Austin Ekeler Predicted to Be Most Productive Commanders RB in Fantasy Football for 2025 NFL Season
Ian Haritz was given the unfortunate assignment of trying to determine which Washington Commanders running back is going to be the most productive fantasy player this season.
Well, despite the rapid ascension of Jacory Croskey-Merritt up draft boards, Haritz decided to hitch his wagon to veteran Austin Ekeler in 2025.
“Look, where there’s smoke, there’s fire: Bill Croskey-Merritt is deserving of a lot of the hype being thrown his way and profiles as the lead early-down option here,” wrote Hartitz. “Still, Ekeler’s pass-down work doesn’t figure to be going anywhere, and what happens if HE winds up earning the goal-line role? After all, Ekeler has scored the position’s third-most TDs inside the five-yard line since 2021 (27!) and done so at a pretty great 56% clip—far better than bigger body guys like Jonathan Taylor (39%) and David Montgomery (49%).”
Ekeler may not have been the touchdown scoring machine he was during his days with the Los Angeles Chargers, but he still managed to 735 total yards and four scores over his 112 touches in his first year with the Commanders.
The goal line role belonged to Brian Robinson Jr. last year, who is no longer with the team after being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of August.
“This is less of Bill slander and more of, hey, Ekeler looked plenty spry last season, and suddenly his main touch competition was replaced by a seventh-round rookie … and literally nobody else,” added Hartitz. “There’s room here for 12-15 weekly combined carries and targets inside an offense many expect to (again) flirt with top-five scoring status—that’s not a bad bet for a guy going as the RB40 on Sleeper and RB45 on Yahoo.”
Ekeler did see his yards per carry jump from 3.51 in 2023 to a healthy 4.77 last season, which is very encouraging for a player who is now 30 years old.
Will Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, or Jacory Croskey-Merritt Emerge as the True RB1 in this Commanders Offense in 2025?
One name you kept seeing mentioned by Hartitz was Croskey-Merritt, who has been receiving rave reviews all offseason by beat reporters. Once he scored a touchdown on an explosive run against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, the hype train officially left the station.
The question is whether or not Ekeler will simply maintain the specific role we saw from him in 2024? Or will it expand now that Robinson is off the roster and Ekeler is the most accomplished back on the depth chart?
Well, Robinson missed multiple games last year. It is worth noting that even those contests without Robinson, Ekeler never saw more than 13 carries in a game last season. He finished the year with just 77 rushing attempts in 2024.
Ekeler will likely have a secure role as a change-of-pace back with a large amount of work in the passing game but is unlikely to lead the team in carries in 2025.
Croskey-Merritt could get out of the blocks slow while the rookie is slowly integrated into the offense alongside two veterans, but is a strong candidate to finish the year as the team’s leading rusher when it is all said and done in 2025.