Chris Rodriguez Jr. just moved up on the Commanders' depth chart

Former Kentucky bulldozer Chris Rodriguez Jr. has teetered on the fringe of the Washington Commanders’ roster ever since the organization drafted him in the 6th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. After being inactive during the first two weeks of the year, look for C-Rod to be a mainstay on the field now that starting running back Austin Eckler has been ruled out for the year with a torn Achilles, an injury suffered during Thursday Night Football.

The franchise formerly known as the Football Team drafted another running back to their already crowded stable of them this season when they took Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt in the 4th round. This looked like bad news for Rodriguez, but the team liked what they saw out of C-Rod during the preseason so much that they traded former starter Brian Robinson to the 49ers instead of waiving the former Wildcat.

Despite being a healthy scratch two weeks in a row, Rodriguez has been the ideal teammate. When asked about how he is handling his inactive status, even though his coaches have praised the work he has done, he said, “The only thing I can control are the things that I can control. That’s being ready when my number is called.”

His number is about to be called.

Croskey-Merritt is likely to be the lead back for Washington, with Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols expected to handle passing down and goal-line opportunities moving forward.

If you don’t have C-Rod on your fantasy football roster, he might be a pretty good pickup.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. gets loose for the big gain!

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— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025