Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams had a solid start to his rookie season in 2021, rushing for 903 yards while appearing in all 17 games (with one start.) However, a torn ACL in his sophomore campaign took him out for the year. He attempted to bounce back in 2023, although he did not quite mirror his 2021 output (774 yards).
In a recent interview with Kyle Odegard of Sports Talk Philly, former running back Terrell Davis discussed Javonte Williams’s struggle to return to his pre-injury form.
“I talked to him early last season, and I can empathize with him because I had the same injury, right?” Davis said. “You come back, and although you think you feel like you’re 100 percent, you’re not. He’s not quite to where he can run and play without thinking about something. That has been hampering him the last year-and-a-half.”
In their 10-9 win against the Jets this past Sunday, Williams had his best and most productive game of the season, carrying the rock a season-high 16 times for 77 yards. However, he still needs to find his groove from 2021.
“That’s the best that I have seen him in a long time,” Davis said. “That was encouraging to see him run with more energy in his feet and legs. They just looked a little quicker. And he was running with power. So that tells me it wasn’t physical with him the last couple of weeks. That tells me that was still him trying to have confidence in his legs, that they could get back to where they were.
“I’m going to watch him again this week to see what happens. I’m hoping I get to see the guy that looks like the old Javonte, not the guy we saw the first three weeks. Because that did not look like him.”
This week, Williams will face a Las Vegas Raiders defense that has allowed 137.5 rushing yards per game, ninth-most in the NFL. We’ll see if the running back can continue his positive momentum from last week.
