Analyze Jacory Croskey Merritt's matchup for week 9
Croskey-Merritt’s snap share and efficiency are trending down, he’s invisible in the passing game, and he now draws the league’s stingiest run defense; sit him.
The Seahawks surrender a league-low 75.7 rushing yards per game, have not allowed a 100-yard rusher all year, and give up the fewest fantasy points to RBs (16.5 per game). Croskey-Merritt, meanwhile, has been held under 3.0 YPC in back-to-back weeks and has one catch in his last three games. The matchup is brutal on paper and the usage trends are moving in the wrong direction, making this a clear avoid spot.
After peaking at 66% of snaps in Week 6, Croskey-Merritt fell to 49% in Week 7 and has averaged just 2.6 YPC over the last two games; he has two receptions for six yards in that span and looks stuck in an inefficient timeshare.
Croskey-Merritt’s rookie season has been defined by volatility rather than promise. The explosive 25-point eruption against the Chargers in Week 5 stands as a glaring outlier surrounded by weeks of middling usage and poor per-touch efficiency. His snap rate has oscillated between 33% and 66%, and the coaching staff has increasingly leaned on Jeremy McNichols in obvious passing situations, leaving Croskey-Merritt game-script dependent. Over the past three contests he’s handled 55% of the backfield snaps yet produced only 86 yards on 29 carries (2.97 YPC), demonstrating that opportunity has not translated to production.
The Seahawks’ defensive front is precisely the type of unit that turns shaky lines into fantasy graveyards. Seattle plays a disciplined nickel-heavy scheme that funnels runs back inside to Bobby Wagner and the emerging interior tandem of Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones, resulting in a league-best 4.64 YPC allowed to enemy backs. They held Christian McCaffrey to 3.2 YPC, Jahmyr Gibbs to 2.9, and Bijan Robinson to 2.4; each of those backs needed passing work or goal-line fortune to salvage usable fantasy days. Croskey-Merritt, who has been targeted twice since Week 4, lacks the receiving profile to offset a likely 30-40-yard rushing floor.
Add in the macro context—an Arizona offense that ranks 25th in first-half scoring and projects to trail—and the rookie’s path to touches becomes even narrower. Negative game script will push McNichols onto the field on third downs and two-minute drills, capping Croskey-Merritt’s ceiling at a handful of early-down carries against a front seven that has not broken. Expect 9-12 totes for 35-45 yards and zero passing output; that range-of-outcome median sits well outside the top-36 RB projection for Week 9. Bench him in all redraft formats and pivot to any streaming option with a neutral or positive script.