Who Should I Start? Jonathan Taylor or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Sunday, October 5, 5:21 PM

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor rushed 17 times for 66 yards and three touchdowns during Sunday's Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He also caught three of four targets for an additional 20 receiving yards. While Taylor merely had modest yardage efficiency, he made up for it with his nose for the end zone. Taylor has had two different three-touchdown games over the last three weeks, and he ranks as the overall RB2 in fantasy football this season. He is also the league's leading rusher and has seven touchdowns. He should be deployed as a high-end RB1 every week, including next week against the Arizona Cardinals.

Thursday, October 9, 12:49 PM

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said that rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt still has a "ways to go" with his play when the football isn't in his hands, according to John Keim of ESPN. "Pass protection, pass game, any sort of lead blocks. He has to keep working to become a complete back but since day one when he touches the ball he does good things with it," Kingsbury added. It's about par for the course with most young RBs in the NFL. The 24-year-old displayed his upside in the Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, carrying the ball 14 times for a season-high 111 yards and two touchdowns, but he also lost a fumble. But will it be enough to get JCM out of a committee backfield approach in Washington that also includes Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols? Fantasy managers should be willing to find out with Croskey-Merritt in their starting lineups for a Monday night affair against the Chicago Bears to close out Week 7.