Who Should I Start? TreVeyon Henderson or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Monday, February 16, 6:34 AM

A highly-touted second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson flashed both explosive upside and some reason for concern as a rookie. Across 17 games played, the 23-year-old recorded 1,132 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns on 215 touches, which landed him third in the Offensive Rookie of the Year vote. Henderson also got better as the year progressed, recording 683 of his 911 total rushing yards and eight of his nine rushing touchdowns after Week 8. However, a portion of Henderson's second-half production came with fellow Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined by injury. Once Stevenson returned down the stretch of the season, New England largely operated with an even playing time split between the two backs. In the playoffs, Stevenson earned 70 touches to Henderson's 35 as the Patriots opted in favor of the more consistent between-the-tackles runner. Both backs are under contract for 2026 and beyond, which means Henderson is unlikely to see a true RB1 workload in the immediate future. Still, his upside as both a rusher and receiver should allow him to maintain his dynasty value after an encouraging rookie season.

Thursday, February 19, 8:38 AM

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt was a 7th-round pick in 2025 following an unorthodox finish to his college career, and he became a popular sleeper pick heading into his first season. With the Commanders' running back room lacking obvious star talent, the path was there for the explosive young back to claim the top spot. Following an early-season injury to Austin Ekeler, Croskey-Merritt was given multiple chances to secure the role. While he was never able to take a stranglehold of the position, injuries and ineffectiveness around him never let him stray too far from relevance. With Ekeler set to hit the open market and Chris Rodriguez Jr. a restricted free agent, Washington will likely bring in another back to compete for touches. However, after putting up two of his best games against divisional foes over the final month of the season, Croskey-Merritt should have every chance to compete for a primary role again in 2026.