Javonte Williams has quietly enjoyed a solid season.
But, when he’s at his best, the bruising back plays explosively loud football.
Rewind to his rookie season in 2021, and Williams was nearly unstoppable. He ran with a reckless abandon which filled defenders with terror as he smashed through them. That year, he forced 31 broken tackles per Pro Football Reference on his way to 903 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.
Despite all that toughness, he also has soft hands. Williams hauled in 43 receptions for 316 yards and three more scores that year.
Then, four games into his sophomore season, Williams sustained a devastating knee injury. He tore his ACL and LCL and was done for the season.
So, there’s no doubt the Broncos are lucky to have him back this season. However, if they can get a little more out of the special running back, it could be enough to push Denver into the playoffs.
Javonte Williams has been good, but not great in 2023
This season, some may argue Williams has been underutilized.
Jaleel McGlaughlin was the pleasant surprise of the season earlier in the year. He rushed for 72 and 68 yards against the Jets and Bears, scoring through the air in each game. And Samaje Perine has enjoyed a solid campaign. Not only as a tough-nosed runner, but as the team’s leading receiver from the backfield. Perine currently has 41 receptions for 389 yards and has been in the lineup during crucial fourth-quarter drives as a safety valve for Russell Wilson.
So, those two have stolen some of Williams’ thunder, no doubt.
But when he is in, Williams hasn’t had the explosiveness nor the angry running Broncos Country became accustomed to seeing from him.
This year, he’s rushed 182 times for 677 yards, with a career-low 3.7 yard per carry average. He’s also only rushed for one touchdown, while receiving for two more scores.
He was special during October and early November, rushing for 82, 85, and 79 yards respectively against Green Bay, Kansas City, and Buffalo; three crucial wins. He enjoyed a 3.9 YPC average during that stretch, and scored twice on passes from Wilson.
There’s no doubt Williams was key to the Broncos winning those games.
But recently, his production has really dipped.
In terms of advanced stats, he’s becoming less and less efficient running the ball as the year goes on. This chart shows Williams in the bottom left, where the top right is home to the best backs.
Running Back Efficiency graph.
The loss to the Lions was arguably his worst game of the year: Williams ran 12 times for only 27 yards (2.3 YPC) and caught two passes for -7 yards. Of course, that wasn’t all his fault.
The Broncos offensive line got bullied by the Lions defensive front, and they need to keep working to be more physical overall.
Denver’s offensive line has to step up their physicality
The Broncos line was dominated by the Lions physical front.
That resulted in a rushing offense which only gained 83 yards on 28 carries, a far too low 2.96 YPC average. It was the fifth time this year Denver’s run for less than 100 yards, and they’ve gone 2-3 in those games.
When it comes to run blocking, the Broncos as a team have graded out well by Pro Football Focus and other. And yet the team can’t run the ball when they need to on a down-by-down basis.
Composite run blocking grades as of Dec. 12.
Patriots present tough test for running game
Unfortunately for Williams and the offensive line, the Broncos face the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve.
The Patriots are a bad team this year, and at 3-11, they’re eliminated from the playoffs. But what they do well is stop the run.
Currently, the Pats are No. 2 in the NFL in run defense, allowing a mere 84.9 yards per game and 3.1 YPC. They’ve held five straight opponents under the century mark on the ground. That includes giving up only 43 to the Chiefs last week and 29 to the Chargers three weeks ago.
So, that means Williams and the run game may have to wait to really get going again.
On the other hand, if Denver can bully the Patriots up front, that would be a great omen going forward against the Chargers and Raiders to finish the regular season.
The Broncos need to win-out, in all likelihood, to get into the playoffs. And, they’ll need some help from other teams losing, too.
If Williams can pick up his production, it’ll go a long way to helping balance the offensive attack and win those key games.
Denver (7-7) and New England (3-11) face off in the Mile High City on Christmas Eve with a 6:15 p.m. MDT kickoff.
