The Washington Commanders don’t have any set positions in their backfield — not even 2nd-year running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt seems like a sure thing after he led the team in rushing as a rookie in 2025.
That means someone could come out of nowhere to make the 53-man roster. CBS Sports NFL reporter Josh Edwards predicts that someone could be undrafted free agent rookie running back Robert Henry Jr.
“Washington’s backfield should be competitive as there is no clear feature back between Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, Kaytron Allen and Jerome Ford,” Edwards wrote. “Henry was given the team’s third-largest practical guarantee. Henry is a smaller back who builds speed quickly and contributes in the pass game.”
Commanders in Concerning RB Drought
The Commanders haven’t had a player rush for over 900 yards in a single season since Antonio Gibson rushed for 1,042 yards in 2021, and haven’t had a player rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons since Alfred Morris did it from 2012 to 2014.
That means jobs are up for grabs, and Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport singled out Henry as the NFL’s “Most Exciting” undrafted free agent.
The Commanders’ leading rusher in 2025 was rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a 7th-round pick who rushed for 805 yards and 8 touchdowns but also struggled with fumbles.
“Henry was a wildly productive player at UTSA last year — he topped 1,000 yards on the ground,” Davenport wrote. “He averaged almost seven yards per carry and scored 11 total touchdowns while peeling off five runs of 70 yards or more. However, he is also a 24-year-old rookie who is just 5’9″ and 196 pounds, which led to his going undrafted … The Washington running back room isn’t exactly loaded—the team’s lead back is a second-year pro who was a seventh-round pick last year. Henry has a realistic shot to earn a roster spot if he carries his college burst and elusiveness into camp.”
Former NJCAA National Player of the Year
Henry was a junior college star at Jones College, where he led the nation with 1,302 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in 2021 and was named NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year.
At UTSA, Henry led the Roadrunners with 11 touchdowns in a backup role in 2021, then led them in rushing each of the next 2 seasons. In 3 seasons, he scored 30 touchdowns and put up 2,747 yards of total offense.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein predicted Henry would be a 7th-round pick or priority free agent — the latter of which proved true.
“Fifth-year senior whose splashy early-season performance against Texas A&M put him on the map,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Henry is a slasher with a wiggly lower half, allowing him to make sudden cuts and elude tacklers in tight quarters. He’s quicker than fast and struggles to consistently read/react to the development of run lanes. While his burst can create occasional chunk gains, he too often does not keep runs on their designed tracks. He’s yet to show he can be a major factor on third downs and fumbled six times in the last three seasons, which could be impediments in his pursuit of a roster spot.”
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