The Washington Commanders' season didn't go as anybody had hoped for, but it did feature several bright spots. One of them was a player who wasted no time endearing himself as a fan-favorite in D.C.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt was a seventh-round pick, the final of 25 running backs selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. By training camp, he was the story of the offseason. By Week 3, he was the Commanders' starting rusher.
Croskey-Merritt secured 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 2025 on 4.6 yards per carry. Somehow, it wasn't enough to be nominated for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Commanders rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt deserved a nomination for prestigious award
The NFL has been announcing its award finalists throughout the week, and for Offensive Rookie of the Year, it includes wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Emeka Egbuka, quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough, and running backs Ashton Jeanty and TreVeyon Henderson.
Croskey-Merritt, who was the Pepsi Rookie of the Week no fewer than four times, wasn't among them.
Real question: Why wasn’t Bill Croskey-Merritt nominated for Rookie of the Year? Bill won Rookie of the Week 4 times. Jackson Dart and Tyler Shough combined for 0. Not saying Bill should win, but 6 nominees and Bill isn’t one? Doesn’t add up. pic.twitter.com/EH9xrdQZX0
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 21, 2026
Now, it must be acknowledged that the four Rookie of the Week awards have to be taken with a grain of salt, because those are strictly fan-voted. Commanders fans have notoriously stacked the ballot box in recent years, helping quarterback Jayden Daniels win 11 times last season and wide receiver Jaylin Lane in Week 3 of 2025, when he scored a punt return touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Still, it's easy to argue that Croskey-Merritt deserved a nomination. He was fourth among rookie running backs in rushing yards this season and second in touchdowns. Among those with more than 100 rushing yards, he was tied for second in yards per carry.
Shough and Dart had impressive moments, but both nominations scream token representation for quarterbacks in a weak class at their position. For example, the New Orleans Saints' second-round signal-caller threw 10 touchdowns to six interceptions with a QBR of 48.9.
What Croskey-Merritt was able to accomplish as a seventh-round pick was borderline unprecedented. Isiah Pacheco in 2022 and Kyle Monangai this season are the only recent players selected as late as he was to rival his rookie stats, and the Arizona product beat out the Chicago Bears rookie in both yards and touchdowns.
One could argue that Croskey-Merritt was snubbed because the Commanders won only five games, but Shough's team only won six. It would have been a challenge for him to win the award, but he at least deserved to be one of the finalists.
Despite this obvious slight, it was still an outstanding first season for the man known as Bill. That's the main thing.