Most of the Washington commanders tagged for a breakout season this year have failed. But there is one player who has been lurking beneath the surface for some time now who may be on the verge of a real breakout.
Before the season he was not on anyone’s list. In fact, one of his younger colleagues was getting the most publicity.
Now, with six games left for Washington to salvage some positivity from the campaign, it looks like the pendulum has shifted.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. could be ready to take over in the Commander’s backfield
This was supposed to be the year of Zackary Croskey-Merritt. The seventh-round rookie surprised everyone throughout training camp and preseason. His emergence was the main reason why general manager Adam Peters dealt last year’s starter, Brian Robinson Jr., to the San Francisco 49ers before the season.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. has been viewed as a Robinson clone since year three. Powerful but not explosive. It seems like Kliff Kingsbury likes runners who can cut power, make defenders miss and break up big plays. The Kentucky product is viewed as a straight forward power back.
Croskey-Merritt began the year backed up by veteran Austin Ekeler, with reliable all-purpose veteran Jeremy McNichols rounding out the running back room. Rodriguez was basically an afterthought, a healthy scratch in the early games.
That’s been the case for Rodriguez since being taken in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. He bounced up and down from the practice squad to the main roster and it looked like that would be his destiny at the start of 2025.
But Rodriguez has proven to be very resilient.
Ekeler suffered an injury early in the season. Croskey-Merritt started well but then hit the wall. McNichols remains a steady player of all trades, but has never been viewed as a high-volume runner.
Rodríguez started a few games immediately after Ekeler’s injury and performed relatively well. He was particularly effective in the Week 4 loss against the Atlanta Falcons, picking up 59 rushing yards on only seven carries. By that time, the coaching staff seemed completely enamored with Croskey-Merritt. The third-year pro got just nine carries over the next four weeks, often in mop-up time.
However, when Croskey-Merritt struggled, Rodriguez got another chance. Over the past three weeks, he has totaled 33 carries and gained 160 rushing yards at a rate of 4.8 yards per carry. He also added a few touchdowns.
Head coach Dan Quinn hasn’t said anything definitively, but it appears that, at least for now, Rodriguez is ushering in the Commanders’ return. It’s up to him to keep it.
If Washington gets some of its weapons back in the coming weeks – Terry McLaurin, Noah Brown and especially Jayden Daniels – it should open up the offense even more for a powerful downhill back like Rodriguez.
The Commanders still value Croskey-Merritt, but in the final games of 2025, Rodriguez could prove he is an equally valuable part of Washington’s offense in the future.
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