The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team unless specified by a direct quote.
The Washington Commanders will begin their preseason schedule with a road matchup against the New England Patriots. Here are three players to watch Friday night.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Croskey-Merritt, also known as "Bill," flashed at several points during the first two weeks of training camp. The seventh-round pick showed impressive vision and quickness in earlier practices, which led to several explosive runs. He's caught his teammates and coaches' eyes, and both offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels said they were looking forward to seeing how he would perform against the Patriots.
Croskey-Merritt had a mostly quiet joint practice on Thursday. The quickness and vision were still there but didn't lead to any highlight plays. Croskey-Merritt also fumbled a handoff from Daniels, showing that while he is an exciting prospect, he still has room to grow.
Expect Croskey-Merritt to get a healthy amount of touches in the preseason game against the Patriots with Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler receiving little, if any time on the field. Other than the East-West Shrine Bowl, this will be Croskey-Merritt's first game in almost a year. It will be a chance for him show off his ability to navigate through traffic in a game scenario, and if he can do that, he can tighten his hold on a potential roster spot.
Kain Medrano
The game has started to slow down for Medrano, and that has resulted in him putting together a string of good practices.
Medrano has done a good job of putting himself in good position to make plays. This has been particularly true in coverage, as he has used his athleticism to keep with up pass-catchers in man situations and jump routes for pass breakups. He has also done a good job of keeping his matchups in front of him and breaking down to make tackles for minimal gains. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said the team is trying to carve out a role for him, but Medrano has been defining that himself.
Medrano still has a lot to prove against the Patriots, who have adopted a physical style from head coach Mike Vrabel. The coaches want to see more consistency from him and whether he can match that physicality on a down-to-down basis. Medrano will also need to show he can turn some of these pass breakups he has had during recent practices into turnovers.
Jaylin Lane
Like Croskey-Merritt, Lane had a quiet joint practice session against the Patriots. He didn't necessarily do anything negative; he just didn't stand out in the way that he did during practices in previous weeks.
Lane should get plenty of opportunities to bounce back in the game on Friday. Lane has speed, versatility and quickness to go with a strong work ethic. He knows how to turn those traits into yards after the catch, which led to him getting praise from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. He also has the capability to be a vertical threat, which the team has missed with Noah Brown and Terry McLaurin not on the field.
Lane will also get plenty of snaps returning punts on Friday. He had an extensive career as a return specialist in college and led the ACC in punt return yards in 2024. The Commanders have been looking for an answer at punt returner for years, and Lane has the chance to claim the role for himself.
