One of the key starters the Denver Broncos are still waiting to replace in the 2025 offseason is running back Javonte Williams. Williams was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Broncos, the first draft class by general manager George Paton.
Williams looked like one of the top young running backs in the league as a rookie and was poised for a huge breakthrough in 2022 before a bad knee injury against the Raiders early in the 2022 season. It was assumed that he might miss some time early in the 2023 season due to the injury, but he was miraculously on the field for basically the entire offseason program.
Unfortunately, Williams never looked the same after coming back from the injury. Other than the occasional solid contribution in the running game and his pass protecting abilities, Williams became a liability at the running back position and the Broncos let him leave in the 2025 offseason with no contest.
The Dallas Cowboys scooped Williams up early in NFL Free Agency, but only on a one-year deal worth $3 million. I'm not 100 percent sure what prompted it, but Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis went on an absolutely scathing rant about Williams recently.
Javonte Williams gets absolutely buried by NFL media member
It's a good thing Javonte Williams signed his free agent deal before this stuff was put out there. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The reality is that everyone saw this happening for Williams in real time last year and the Cowboys undoubtedly knew they were taking a calculated risk by bringing him in this offseason.
But Sharp wasn't done there. If I didn't know any better, I would think he has some sort of ax to grind...
The lowlight reel being posted on top of all of the horrendous statistics is absolutely nasty work by Sharp, but it does accurately paint the picture of what the Broncos were dealing with the last couple of years in the running game.
Williams, by far, has been the most featured player in the Denver Broncos' offense the last two years combined. He led the team in overall touches in 2023 and 2024 and when you see the lack of effectiveness painted in such a dramatic way by someone like Sharp, you get a good idea of just how big of a step the Denver offense can take in 2025.
It's tough to see Williams getting buried like this by a media member, especially when you think back to how great of a start he had to his NFL career. Injuries derailed him tremendously and we can only hope that he's able to get back on track in Dallas.
