Who Should I Start? Isaac Guerendo or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Tuesday, October 21, 9:16 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo was thrust into action in his rookie season in the NFL in 2024 because Christian McCaffrey missed most of the year due to injuries. Guerendo finished with 84 rushing attempts for 420 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games (three starts) and also chipped in 15 catches on 16 targets as a pass-catcher for 152 yards. Fantasy managers probably viewed him as a pretty valuable handcuff for the injury-prone CMC going into 2025 drafts, but the Niners' acquisition of Brian Robinson Jr. before the season pretty much killed whatever fantasy appeal he had. Through the first seven weeks of his sophomore campaign, the 25-year-old former fourth-rounder has yet to play an offensive snap with CMC and B-Rob both staying healthy. Instead, Guerendo has been limited to a special teams role, returning five kickoffs for a combined 100 yards.

Tuesday, November 4, 4:40 PM

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has struggled over the past month after a hot start to the season. The rookie has recorded 51 carries for 151 yards, no touchdowns, and a lost fumble while adding just three receptions (five targets) for nine yards in his past four games. Croskey-Merritt was outproduced by third-year back Chris Rodriguez Jr. in Washington's blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. Rodriguez could be earning his way back into a more prominent role on early downs while veteran Jeremy McNichols handles the pass-down responsibilities. Croskey-Merritt has been held below four yards per carry in each of the last four games and has a longest run of just 11 yards in that time. Now, with star quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) out for an extended period of time, the Washington offense as a whole takes a significant hit. Croskey-Merritt doesn't catch passes, and now that the explosive runs have dried up, it's left fantasy managers with a disappointing result. After a promising start to his career, Croskey-Merritt looks more like an RB3/RB4 option than the potential league winner he appeared to be earlier in the year.