Austin Ekeler was forced from Thursday night’s game against the Green Packers after suffering a non-contact injury that has been ruled an Achilles’ tendon injury. The Packers led 27-10 with under four minutes in the game when Ekeler went down. He was helped to the sideline and then carted off to the locker room.
Ekeler and the Commanders have been stifled by the Packers defense all evening. The veteran running back had two receptions for 17 yards and eight rushing attempts for 17 more yards before leaving the game. If he were to miss any time, which seems likely at this point, we’d expect rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt and passing down back Jeremy McNichols to take over as the top two running backs on the team.
An Achilles’ injury should keep Ekeler out for an extended period of time. With Ekeler injured, we will likely see Croskey-Merritt’s fantasy value rise, as Ekeler was the lead back, taking over 50% of the snaps. Croskey-Merritt should share work with McNichols, as he is more suited for passing down work. The lack of receiving work would cap Croskey-Merritt’s fantasy upside, but despite this poor offensive game for the Commanders, they will have better days ahead and JCM is poised to be a fantasy contributor moving forward.
