The Commanders signed Rachaad White to a one-year deal on Thursday afternoon, teaming the former Bucs RB up with his former college quarterback at Arizona State, Jayden Daniels. White is a proficient pass catcher who has proven himself to be a viable role player in an NFL RB room. Let’s break this signing down from a fantasy standpoint.
RACHAAD WHITE
- At this point, White is what he is as an NFL running back. Tampa Bay gave him opportunities in a large early-down role — he had 272 carries in 2023 and opened 2024 as the RB1 over Bucky Irving — and he failed to capitalize on those chances. Last year, when Irving went down, White started as the clear RB1, even on early downs, over Sean Tucker, but Tucker eventually overtook him and out-carried him in the final two games Tampa Bay played before Bucky’s return. Multiple offensive coordinators have essentially decided White doesn’t cut it as a primary early-down option.
- With that being said, White is a legitimately high-level pass-down running back. He’s graded out as well above average in PFF receiving grade in all four years of his career, and the Bucs gave him the third-down role over Irving, who is a good receiver in his own right. The Commanders (who have a new OC in David Blough this year, to be fair) used Jeremy McNichols over Jacory Croskey-Merritt on third downs last year, so it’s safe to say that’s not an area where they trust JCM.
- White caught 42 passes in his final season at Arizona State with Daniels as his quarterback.
- On the whole, this is a strong landing spot for White, and he should get the pass-down role immediately. Croskey-Merritt couldn’t fend off Chris Rodriguez Jr. for a whole season, and carries are certainly up for grabs here. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that White has had ample chances to earn a large early-down role, and other than 2023, he hasn’t maintained a significant rushing role for an extended period. If it’s just White versus Croskey-Merritt for carries, perhaps White has a path to being an every-down fantasy starter, but there’s still time for the Commanders to build out their running back room further.
JACORY CROSKEY-MERRITT
- Croskey-Merritt had an interesting rookie season. He was the story of the summer in fantasy football last year, then didn’t even start in Week 1. He eventually won the job temporarily, but Rodriguez was out-carrying him to end the season. On the whole, JCM averaged 4.6 yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns. Not bad for a seventh-round pick, but expectations were blown way out of proportion by the end of August, and the Commanders’ offense combusting without Jayden Daniels didn’t help.
- As mentioned above, White hasn’t been a great early-down rusher through four pro seasons, so that role is still open. Unfortunately, Washington didn’t use JCM at all in the pass game (13 targets, nine catches all year), and White will have an iron grip on that role. There’s also still time for the Commanders to add another running back — they are in prime Jeremiyah Love territory in the NFL Draft — so we’ll see what the depth chart looks like in a few months. For now, though, White figures to take all of the passing downs and some of the carries from JCM.
BUCCANEERS RUNNING BACKS
- The Bucs replaced White with Kenneth Gainwell, who’s a pretty strong one-to-one replacement in terms of player archetype. Gainwell is coming off a career season in Pittsburgh, no doubt aided by Aaron Rodgers‘ inability to push the ball downfield in his age-41 season, and he can chip in on pass downs for Tampa Bay. Sean Tucker is also back for short-yardage situations, leaving Bucky Irving with a precarious path to high-value touches.
