Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Thursday, October 23, 9:17 AM

Following an excellent start to the 2025 season, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. has cooled off as the team heads into its Week 8 bye. The fifth-year back is the No. 16 overall PPR running back, but has now recorded fewer than 50 yards rushing and no touchdowns in three straight games for the Jags, who were thoroughly quieted by the Los Angeles Rams in a 35-7 loss last week. Etienne drew only eight carries and one catch, his fewest number of touches in a game this season. The Jags traded Tank Bigsby to Philadelphia earlier this year, and rookie Bhayshul Tuten has yet to play more than a third of the team's snaps in a game, so Etienne is still the clear top option, but managers should continue to watch his usage in the weeks to come. Jacksonville travels to Las Vegas in Week 9.

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.