Dan Quinn was asked about the Commanders running back room and the competition. This type of question always prompts a list of names and traits associated with them, and Washington’s head coach obliged that type of response.
He started with newcomer and fifth-year veteran Rachaad White. What he said was interesting.
“I’ve been pleased with the additions that we’ve had,” Quinn said after Tuesday’s OTA session. “So, seeing Rachaad out of the backfield catching it, he was on the return game the other
week; he’s got great hands, so what does he add into it on some third downs?”
That’s an important question as we move forward. How does White fit into the overall offensive picture? The Commanders have second-year standout Bill Croskey-Merritt in the fold and he’ll demand a high carry count. Optimism’s high for sixth-round pick Kaytron Allen. Jerome Ford and Jeremy McNichols and undrafted free agent Robert Henry Jr. are also in the mix.
The Commanders signed White after four seasons in Tampa Bay. He was a featured back earlier in his career, but had a solid 2025 season as part of a running back rotation. He had 572 yards on 132 carries with, per NFL NextGen Stats, a 50% rushing success rate and a plus-10.8 rushing EPA. That’s a major upgrade after three seasons of rushing EPAs deep into the negatives.
He should take some carries on early downs, but back to Quinn’s question. How will White function on third downs and has a receiver out of the backfield? He’s not an old school scatback at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, but he’s a solid pass protector with good hands.
His receiving stats weren’t great in 2025 (40 receptions, 218 yards), but he has a quality track record in this area. He had 64 receptions for 549 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 and a plus-20.2 receiving EPA. He doesn’t drop passes and can make plays down the field.
Those are all pluses for what we believe new offensive coordinator David Blough is installing in Washington.
“I mesh with the system,” White said in his post-OTA presser. “I think it’s great. All the things he does for it and the positions he puts us in, I think it’s great. It’s going to be really fun.”
White is also reuniting with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, a former college teammate at Arizona State.
“It’s fun,” Daniels said a few weeks back. “I mean, just the player he is and he had the opportunity to go anywhere else and he chose here, so salute to him and obviously I’ve been knowing him since I was like 19, so it is fun to kind of just get him back in the same building and build off that rapport we have.”
There’s a rapport building within the running back room during the offseason program, that should pay off in training camp when the pads come on. That’s when we’ll get a better sense of this rushing attack.
“I think I fit in great,” White said. “It’s a talented room. We all compete against one another, but we all have fun and I just enjoy it. My game is my game and who I am. I’ve been in the league for five years, so I feel like I bring wisdom, juice and energy.”
