Who is 'Bill'? Meet the Commanders' 7th-round rookie RB suddenly becoming a fantasy football target

Billy Heyen

Who is 'Bill'? Meet the Commanders' 7th-round rookie RB suddenly becoming a fantasy football target image

Bill is a great name.

Usually, it's short for William.

But apparently, it can also be short for Jacory.

Who is 'Bill'?

In this case, "Bill" is Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

Croskey-Merritt split his college career between Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona.

He made it all the way to the draft's seventh round, where he was chosen at pick No. 245 overall.

This summer, Croskey-Merritt has quickly moved up the depth chart in Washington.

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Why is Jacory Croskey-Merritt called 'Bill'?

Jacory Croskey-Merritt got the nickname when he was growing up.

He had a very short haircut, nearly shaved, and so his friends called him "Little Bill" after the television character.

The "Bill" part stuck for JCM through college and now into the NFL.

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Jacory Croskey-Merritt RB depth chart for Commanders

JCM entered the summer as not even a sure bet to make the roster for Washington.

The Commanders returned the quartet of Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr.

But Croskey-Merritt is playing so well that the Commanders have been looking into trading Robinson away.

JCM found the end zone on Monday night against the Bengals in the preseason and got to leap into the home crowd. That likely won't be his last such leap with the way he's been performing.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle