Washington’s rookie belt — from a long void to a three-year takeover

Williams just took Pepsi Rookie of the Week for 2026 Week 1. Croskey-Merritt owned it last year. Daniels (and Sainristil) ran 2024. AP OROY still only four names — with decades of silence in between.

September 18, 2026

The weekly belt is a Washington habit now

Antonio Williams just won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for 2026 Week 1 — the fan vote announced Thursday, Sep. 17, after his debut (4 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD vs Philadelphia). That is the latest stamp in a run that has made Washington the loudest franchise on this board for three seasons running.

Related: Williams’ Week 1 highlight.

2025 — Bill Croskey-Merritt’s year on the weekly board

Last season, running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (widely Bill around the building) owned the Pepsi weekly belt:

Week 1
Week 5
Week 15
Week 17 — four wins

He was not alone. Wideout Jaylin Lane took Week 3. Washington put five Pepsi Rookie of the Week belts on the shelf in 2025 without needing the quarterback to sweep the vote.

2024 — Daniels, then someone else

Jayden Daniels set the modern weekly record with 11 Pepsi Rookie of the Week awards as a rookie (Weeks 1, 3–6, 8–9, 13, 15–17) and also won the Pepsi fan-voted Rookie of the Year. That season was still not a one-name story on the board: corner Mike Sainristil took Week 18. So yes — players other than Daniels got the weekly honor in 2024.

Daniels also won the separate AP Offensive Rookie of the Year (media vote) with 49 of 50 first-place votes.

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year — the thin shelf and the void

The Associated Press season award is rarer. Washington’s full AP OROY list:

1964 — Charley Taylor, WR
1975 — Mike Thomas, RB
2012 — Robert Griffin III, QB
2024 — Jayden Daniels, QB

Between Thomas (1975) and Griffin (2012) sat a 37-year gap. Between Griffin and Daniels another 12 years. For most of the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and the 2013–2023 window, Washington simply was not on the AP OROY board. The recent takeover — Griffin’s spike, then Daniels, then a Pepsi weekly factory with Croskey-Merritt, Lane, Sainristil, and now Williams — stands out because the earlier decades were so quiet.

Two awards, one franchise story

Pepsi Rookie of the Week / Year — fan vote, weekly and end-of-season
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year — media vote after the season

Sport DMV is not inventing 2026 AP ballots. The Week 1 Pepsi belt is locked for Williams; the season awards are still months away. The Commanders page is the hub.

*Friday morning desk (updated), Sep. 18, 2026. Pepsi weekly winners from NFL/Pepsi announcements and the public Rookie of the Week tables; AP OROY from the AP list / NFL.com.*