Javonte Williams is considered one of the top offensive players for the Denver Broncos. Although he only played four games in 2022 due to tearing the ACL and LCL in his knee, Williams had a strong rookie season, which allowed for the hype to be a franchise cornerstone to commence.
In his debut season in 2021, Williams ran for 903 yards and four touchdowns. Williams performed that well despite playing in a shared backfield, starting in just one of the 17 games he played in. With his return for the 2023 NFL season, the expectation is for Williams to attempt to build on his strong 2021 season and be a pivotal player in the Sean Payton-era Broncos attack.
Touchdown Wire has just released the first part of its Top 101 NFL players list (101-76), and despite Williams’s injury, they still ranked the Broncos running back at No. 96. What spurred this for the third-year Denver tailback? A 2022 regular season injury derailed a strong 2021 season.
“Williams’ issue wasn’t regression; it was injury,” Doug Farrar wrote on Touchdown Wire. “A knee injury cut his 2022 season short at just four games, though he was still quietly ridiculous when healthy, even with an offense that was collapsing around him.”
Williams will get a chance to capitalize and build off his 2021 NFL season in full against the Las Vegas Raiders to start the 2023 NFL season on September 10th.
