The 2025 Draft Thread

He's RASsier than I thought!



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Why was he ineligible? What did he do?
 
Anselmheifer said:
What a good find, SIP. Thanks! It feels like JCM has the tools to be taking the lion’s ante of the reps by the end of the season. Maybe splitting time will also keep Brian Robinson healthier and more productive.
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I think so. There were a lot of backs I liked in this draft. Croskey-Merritt wasn't tops of course for me. But I mentioned him on and off if they wait to the mid-late rounds for this spot, he'd be one of the better ones.

He was the hardest one for me to watch so lol I feel atttached to this pick somewhat for that reason, i had to go find and watch some New Mexico games.

I was parital this draft for dudes who could take off if given a crease by the O line and this dude was one of those guys. For me it doesn't even have to be a home run. Consistent doubles are good enough for me.

He could only play one Arizona game this season. But killed it in that game, with 8 plus yards per carry. Then the next game was the shrine bowl, and was the MVP, killed it in that game, too.

He's a complete back IMO. Enough power. Enough speed. Good pass protect. The only thing am not sure of it pass catching. He caught some balls at New Mexico but it wasn't a heck of a lot.

 
burgold said:
Why was he ineligible? What did he do?
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The questions were related to if Croskey-Merritt redshirted in 2019. CBS Sports reported ESPN stats show Croskey-Merritt playing in eight games for Alabama State in 2018. Alabama State said that Croskey-Merritt played in only four games in 2019.

Croskey-Merritt reportedly switched numbers with another RB at Alabama State and played only four games in 2019. The official Alabama State biography for Croskey-Merritt states he played in four games with the Hornets as a true freshman. Merritt, as he was known at Alabama State in 2019, wore number two for the Hornets...


During his one season at New Mexico, Croskey-Merritt was listed as a redshirt senior. With the extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA during the 2020 Covid year, this should be Croskey-Merritt's last year to play. The determination will likely be evaluated if Croskey-Merritt redshirted in 2019 or now.

Croskey-Merritt had 13 carries for 106 yards and a game-clinching 36-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to clinch the game versus his former teammates, New Mexico in the season opener. The NCAA cleared Croskey-Merritt to play in 2024 during the offseason.

New information was reported by an unspecified outside source to the NCAA that led to a further investigation of Croskey-Merritt per CBS Sports. Arizona chose to hold out Croskey-Merritt versus Northern Arizona on Saturday and likely on Friday night at Kansas State while awaiting an answer from the NCAA.


https://zonazealots.com/posts/brent-brennan-gives-jacory-croskey-merritt-update-01j7cvzve8dw

The decision for Croskey-Merritt was made by Arizona out of caution. Without Croskey-Merritt, Quali Conley ran 17 times for 112 yards and a TD and added five receptions 38 yards. Kedrick Reescano had six carries for 71 yards and a 56-yard TD run versus NAU last week backing up Conley.

zonazealots.com

Jacory Croskey-Merritt eligibility issues finally explained

Reports from CBS Sports and On3 have finally explained the eligibility issues with Arizona running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt
zonazealots.com zonazealots.com
 
bifflog said:
"But concerns about his eligibility related to the number of games he’d played in 2019 (and his redshirt status) forced Arizona to sit him for the rest of the year."
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Thanks! That's awesome. So his ineligibility was not due to any misbehavior. :)
 
What I’m wondering is what drafting Croskey-Merritt will do to the RB room.

If you assume (and I do) that Robinson and Ekler return to basically the same roles they have last year, that means they have essentially 3 players competing for one active roster spot, Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez and McNichols.

They clearly like McNichols, they re-signed him. They just drafted Croskey-Merritt.

We need to see how the off-season plays out, but I’d guess Croskey-Merritt is the leader in the clubhouse to make the team as a draft pick. I doubt very much they keep both of the other two on the practice squad.

This could spell the end for CRod here. Which would mean yet another Ron draft pick bites the dust.
 
Always Commander Never Captain said:
Oh man, I'm watching Jaylin Lane and he's a Kliff Kingsbury WR. The amount of end arounds, reverses, fakes he's done, that fits. He's lined up as a RB split a bit further away and taken a long pitch too. He's more versatile than I thought.

He's going to get more playing time than we think.
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It sounds like he’s also going to be their primary returner.

I think the ideal situation is if he could rotate across from Terry with Noah Brown from time to time.

They need to find a version of a “speed” package where they just have a whole bunch of really fast weapons on at the same time. They are challenged at TE for that. Hopefully Sinnott could develop because he’s faster than Ertz at this point.
 
Everyone was banging the table for an edge and we did not address that position at all. This leads me to assume two things. First that they are content with who we have for now and possibly that next year's draft class has strong opportunities. I don't know I don't have a clue
 
skinsinparadise said:
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Appreciate your efforts on presenting him. Didn’t have an opinion when he was drafted but you built a solid case. Pretty exciting for a 7th rounder.

Really good draft overall. A+ on the first two picks from me. Lane will contribute on teams at minimum. Athletic project in the 6th. Potentially very underrated RB in the 7th. And the pick I gripped about (Lane) they seem to be really excited about, so cool. Great work from AP and crew.
 
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