Chris Rodriguez Fantasy Outlook and Upside Being Overlooked?
The Bill Croskey Merritt hype train has been blasting forward at breakneck speed all offseason, and deservedly so. Yet, Chris Rodriguez and his intriguing 2025 Fantasy Football sleeper appeal have largely gone unnoticed.
Rodriguez is currently just 6% rostered on Yahoo, but has massive 2025 Fantasy Football Sleeper Appeal. Add him now before he’s the hottest Waiver Wire Acquisition of Week 2.
Let’s dive into Chris Rodriguez’s 2025 Fantasy Outlook and why you should be adding him to your bench.
The Washington Backfield Opportunity = Gold
The Commanders are implied to be the fifth-highest scoring offense by Vegas, at 27 points per game. Considering Washington finished 6th in the NFL last year at 28.8 per game, during Jayden Daniels‘ rookie season, it’s entirely plausible they end up in the Top-3 even.
Washington also finished as PFF’s 10th ranked line in 2024, and proceeded to acquire Laremy Tunsil — PFF’s 4th ranked tackle, as well as first-round OT Josh Conerly Jr. This line should again finish within the Top-10, and if their draft picks pan out, could even sniff the Top-5.
Most glaringly, Brian Robinson, the team’s leading ball carrier last season, has been traded away. He vacates 187 carries and 8 rushing scores, and a whopping 58.7% of the Commanders total backfield opportunities. The next closest RB in carries was Austin Ekeler, at 77 total.
Consequently, everyone is projecting Bill Croskey Merritt to step right in and take the lion’s share of this vacated volume. While the rookie is certainly the most intriguing and high-upside play, his price has skyrocketed into the Top-100 picks on some sites.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez goes undrafted in nearly every league, but might get the most valuable volume.
Jayden Daniels has the Commanders Offense steamrolling, and a valuable RB should emerge here
Chris Rodriguez 2025 Fantasy Outlook: TD Upside as Goalline Hammer?
Chris Rodriguez isn’t flashy, but the man is a bulldozer at 6′ and 222 lbs. He set a Kentucky record with 20 games of 100+ rushing yards, and ranks third all-time in rushing yardage there (3,644).
Here’s his strengths according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
- Two-time team captain.
- Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards.
- Makes tacklers feel his size at impact.
- Stays square getting through downhill cuts.
- Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers.
- Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes.
- Allows lead blockers to do their work.
- Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
More importantly, HC Dan Quinn seems to agree with many points, specifically Rodriguez’s ability to fight through contact and get the tough yards:
This has Quinn projecting Rodriguez into the short-yardage & goal line back role: When asked if Chris Rodriguez could take over this job, Dan Quinn responded: “Yes – I do like knowing that Chris has that tackle-breaking ability in small-space, yeah I would say that could be one at the front taking place.”
Thus far in the preseason, Rodriguez has looked the part. In Preseason Week 2, Rodriguez actually started the MNF game vs. the Bengals over Bill Croskey-Merritt; Rodriguez quickly ripped off 6 att for 62 yards (10.3 YPA).
In Week 3, Rodriguez ripped off another 34 yards on just 5 carries (6.8 YPA), bringing his preseason total to 96 yards on 11 carries (8.7 YPC). Granted, some writers have expressed concern that Rodriguez was even playing while JCM and other starters rested. But Croskey-Merritt was reportedly dealing with a shoulder injury, and may have played otherwise.
This continues the trend of Rodriguez flashing whenever he gets the chance. His career-high for attempts in a game is 13, and he ripped off 94 yards (7.2 YPC). He also has a 10 carry, 58 yard, 2 TD game on his resume, which might resemble the goalline hammer role we see in 2025.
Perhaps most intriguing is Rodriguez’s new physique.
According to The Athletic, Rodriguez was challenged by special teams’ coach Larry Izzo to “refine himself physically.” After swelling to 235 pounds following a high-ankle sprain in his 2023 rookie season, Rodriguez now weighs 222.
The impact on his play has been noticeable. During a 40 yard scamper this preseason, Rodriguez hit 20.37 MPH– the fastest he’s ever hit:
His vision and elusiveness are also on display. Unsurprising, after Rodriguez spent nearly a month and a half in the Atlanta area working with Lily Abdelmalek, the founder of DSA Sports Performance– she specializes in speed and change-of-direction skills, becoming a go-to source for NFL players.
“I think last year I hit 20 mph probably three times, maybe, throughout the whole year, and I hit it more times in training camp than I have in almost my whole life,” he said.
According to the same report, Rodriguez also worked with wide receivers coach Drew Lieberman, intending to improve his pass catching and route running ahead of another season in Kingsbury’s system–Rodriguez has been targeted with passes all of three times in his pro career.
The Commanders had a third-round grade on Rodriguez when they took him in Round 6 of 2023, too — so the team clearly has a high opinion of him.
Quinn continued to rave about Rodriguez, saying, ““Yeah, we really have a lot of confidence in him…He’s just somebody that through practice and through the opportunities that he gets, he really delivers on that…“I like his fight, I like that he really worked hard to change his body, and those are things that, when people continue to show you that, then you pay attention.”
Summary: Chris Rodriguez 2025 Fantasy Football Sleeper Appeal
Ultimately, Chris Rodriguez is a phenomenal last-round 2025 fantasy football sleeper. At minimum, he projects to be the goalline hammer for an offense that should rank within the Top-5 scoring units. At best, Rodriguez wins this job outright and racks up 600+ yards to go along with 8-10+ TDs.
Indeed, I prefer Bill Croskey Merritt if I can only take one, but his price has risen at an astronomical rate. Instead, I’ll go after the free pieces of this backfield that might see the most valuable touches anyways.
