Arizona RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt drafted in 7th round by Washington Commanders

Arizona running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt was selected in the seventh round (No. 245) of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders.

The 5-foot-10, 206-pounder only appeared in a single game last season before the NCAA deemed him ineligible due to a questionable redshirt year in 2019 while at Alabama State.

In that one game for the Wildcats, Croskey-Merritt rushed for 106 yards on 13 carries against his former team in New Mexico (2023).

He was the fourth Arizona player to be selected in this year’s draft, joining wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (No. 8, first round, Carolina Panthers), offensive guard Jonah Savaiinaea (No. 37, second round, Miami Dolphins) and kicker Tyler Loop (No. 186, sixth round, Baltimore Ravens).

While Croskey-Merritt was not invited to the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, he participated in the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl and did quite well. He had two rushing scores on 11 carries and rattled off 97 yards (8.8 per carry).

#ShrineBowl ➡️ @NFL

Congratulations to Jacory Croskey-Merritt (@JacoryMerritt15) from @ArizonaFBall on being drafted by the @Commanders in the 2025 #NFLDraft!#ShrineBowlPRO | #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/pVn2L4ETcN

— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) April 26, 2025

Arizona RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt draft profile

The native of Montgomery, Alabama spent his first four years of college at Alabama State (2019-2022), rushing for 1,239 yards and a touchdown in 36 games. He averaged 3.5 yards over his 356 rushes.

In his lone season with New Mexico, Croskey-Merritt reached the end zone 17 times on 189 carries and had 1,190 yards (6.3 average).

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein in his pre-draft analysis said the 24-year-old running back has “adequate size and impressive cut quickness” but will have “below-average third-down value.”

Zierlein added Croskey-Merritt has the potential to be “a good RB2 at the next level.”

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