Report: Denver Broncos star RB Javonte Williams feared to have suffered serious knee injury
The Denver Broncos franchise was dealt a devastating dose of news on Sunday night. Their star running back, Javonte Williams, is feared to have suffered a serious right knee injury, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted on Sunday night. He’s going to have an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of his injury, but there is not a lot of optimism surrounding his injury.
Williams was seen leaving the Denver locker room on Sunday evening on crutches. The video of the injury shows the former UNC star twisting his right knee as he was being tackled by Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby in Sunday’s Raiders-Broncos game. He couldn’t put any weight on the leg and he attempted to do so twice, as he tried walking off the field, according to reports. Trainers had to cart him off the field and he was ruled out of the game very shortly after being looked at by the team’s medical staff. If Williams is out for an extended period of time, running backs Mike Boone and Melvin Gordon will take over the workload for the Broncos backfield.
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The Broncos coaching staff under Nathaniel Hackett hadn’t been utilizing Williams properly during the 2022 season, but the metrics have shown in the past that he’s one of the best running backs in the league when used in the proper manner.
In Week 1, he forced five missed tackles on catches, the most among all players in the NFL. Against the Seahawks in Week 1, Williams hauled in 11 catches for 65 receiving yards. Thus far in 2022, he’s rushed for 176 yards and hauled in 77 receiving yards.
In 2021, Williams exploded onto the scene during his rookie season in the NFL and established himself among the league’s best at the running back position. He had 903 rushing yards and 316 receiving yards. Williams demonstrated the same elite combination of speed, power, and hands that made him one of the top running backs in college football.
Javonte Williams and Michael Carter were the nation’s best when they suited up for the North Carolina Tar Heels
He and Michael Carter formed the top running back tandem in college football during their time at North Carolina. Williams laid a devastating hit on Miami safety Amari Carter when he steamrolled him in the open field in their 2020 matchup. In that same game against the ‘Canes, Carter and Williams combined for 544 rushing yards in the game, setting the NCAA record by teammates in a single game.
A native of Wallace, North Carolina, he was ranked a three-star prospect by most recruiting outlets and appeared in all 11 games as a Tar Heels freshman, albeit mostly in a special teams role. Williams grew into his 5-foot-10 frame his sophomore year, bulking up from a 205-pound freshman to a 215-pound sophomore, and the results were evident: he took the increased role in stride and posted 1,109 all-purpose yards, and ranked seventh in the ACC with 71.8 rushing yards per game.
His junior season, however, was by far his best: despite the fact that he was still only named the official starter once, Williams was named the Tar Heels offensive Most Valuable Player. He led the nation by avoiding 75 tackles, and posted 1,245 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.
Williams ultimately declared for the 2021 NFL Draft after his junior year, and he was selected in the second round with the 35th overall pick by the Denver Broncos.
Simon Gibbs also contributed to this article.