Javonte Williams earns an A- in his preseason debut
Although it was a small sample size, rookie running back Javonte Williams impressed in his preseason debut. Williams earned the grade of an A- according to NFL.com’s Chad Reuter. He finished the game with five carries for 29 yards. However, what impressed Reuter the most was his ability to break tackles. The analyst credited his strong stiff-arming abilities as one of the reasons the rookie was difficult to bring down.
Williams preseason highlights
“The second-round pick effectively cut off the backside of a zone play for a big gain, then bounced outside for more yards on the next, stiff-arming a defensive back to get to the sideline. He paid off a drive by bouncing to his left, maintaining his balance through contact, and spinning into the end zone … though a holding call erased the score,” he wrote. “On his second drive, Williams failed to follow a lead blocker to the outside for a big gain, but on another carry, kept his shoulders square and legs churning to squeeze out every possible yard.”
Williams also showed signs of being a willing blocker in the passing game. Even when there were no defenders around him initially, he would search out a defender to block. When quarterback Drew Lock scrambled for a few yards, Williams was downfield blocking for him. Williams has shown in his limited time the right mentality of trying to be involved in every play. This is essential for being an every-down back in the NFL.
Road to being a starter
The 35th overall pick was taken in the second round of this year’s draft. Williams is hoping to make an impact right from the first kick for the Broncos. For Denver, there are several competitive position battles going on, running back included. So in order to get ample playing time in his rookie season, Williams will have to beat out veterans Royce Freeman and Melvin Gordon III. Gordon has only rushed for over 1000 yards once in his career but has two seasons where he finished just shy of that mark. The most recent being 14 yards short last year for the Broncos.
Even if Williams is unable to win the starting position initially, expect for him to see quite a few touches this season. Javonte Williams’s preseason debut has put the rest of the locker room on notice that he is here and ready to compete. Hopefully for him, he can follow up this performance with another solid one in their next preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)