The road back from a major knee injury hasn’t been the easiest path for Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams. After suffering a multi-level knee injury in 2022, Williams clawed his way back to be ready for the start of training camp last year but didn’t have the type of season he’d hoped for.
Now, two years removed and down some weight, he’s ready for all the competition at the running back position.
Denver Broncos RB Javonte Williams ready for competition
Going into training camp, there was a lot of social media speculation about the future of Williams in a Broncos uniform, with many narratives painting it out that he could even be a roster cut during camp. There was never any substance to those rumors, and that’s unlikely to happen.
Despite the addition of Audric Estime in the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams is very much in the Broncos’ plans and is still anticipated to be the primary back for Sean Payton. Payton approached Williams in the offseason and asked him if he could get back to his previous playing weight where he was in 2020 and 2021.
“The type of coach [that] Coach Payton is, he’s seen a lot of great running backs come through [the league],” Williams said. “Anything that he says, I’m going to listen to it. Just for him to even care and just to tell me, ‘This is what I want you to be when you come back to have the best chance to do what you have to do’. That by itself just showed me that he cared, and if he put that much effort into it, I will too.”
That effort led to Javonte dropping 11 pounds this offseason, and he’s looked sharp to start camp — running with more confidence and explosiveness as he looks to get back to his 2021 self where he grew accustomed to dragging defenders for extra yards.
Despite having a career-low year in 2023 in terms of yards per carry, he still found a way to hit 1000 all-purpose yards, but it was evident he didn’t look or feel like his old self last season. Going into training camp, he says he feels drastically better being two years removed from surgery.
“I’m making a lot of progress,” Williams said. “I’m starting to feel like my old self again. This is probably the best I’ve felt.”
Him being at his best comes at a great time, because competition at the position is intense going into camp. Denver’s roster features Williams, Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Samaje Perine, and undrafted rookie free agent Blake Watson. Each of these players possess their own unique traits that could help the Broncos offense find some success as Payton looks to build the right 53-man roster.
So much of the running back position requires physicality and contact, good vision, and the ability to make quick cuts to gain positive yardage. Only so much of that can be simulated without pads, but Williams and the stable of Broncos backs won’t have to wait much longer as the pads come on beginning Monday, that’s where the real competition begins.
“I’m looking forward to it because I know that’s when real football starts,” Williams said. “That’s when things are going to start looking like how they are going to look on the field, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
