Three years after being drafted by the Broncos, Williams appears to be in a battle this preseason for playing time. Reports from offseason practices and even comments about competition from coach Sean Payton suggest that Williams' role could change. Denver has multiple running backs who have more speed than Williams showed last year and added a rookie in Audric Estime who can play with as much physicality as Williams. Coming back from a torn ACL in 2023, Williams averaged just 3.6 yards per rush, ranked outside the top 30 qualifying running backs in avoided tackle rate and explosive play rate, and had his stats salvaged by receptions (11 games with at least three catches) and occasional touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving). If reports on Williams turn positive by August then he'll be worth targeting in the Round 6 range, but until then Fantasy managers would be wise to dock him at least one round since he could be in an undesirable role by the time the season begins.
Fantasy Stats
rushing
receiving
fantasy
Year
yds
Rushing Yards
avg
Average Yards per Rush
td
Rushing Touchdowns
fl
Fumbles Lost
rec
Receptions
yds
Receiving Yards
td
Receiving Touchdowns
fpts
Fantasy Points
fpts/g
Fantasy Points per Game
2024
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2023
774
3.57
3
1
47
228
2
121
7.6
2022
204
4.34
—
1
16
76
—
23
5.8
3y Avg.
627
4.02
2
1
35
207
2
89
7.4
Fantasy News
Broncos' Javonte Williams: Receiving TD called back Sunday
Rotowire
Williams rushed three times for 17 yards and caught his only target for 15 yards in Sunday's 27-2 preseason win over the Packers.
Williams also had a would-be 14-yard touchdown catch on the opening drive wiped out by an illegal forward pass penalty on rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Denver's offense has moved the ball well with Nix under center in the preseason, which bodes well for Williams' outlook heading into the regular season. Williams has started the Broncos' first two preseason games, but it remains to be seen if the starting running back will get any usage in next Sunday's preseason finale against the Cardinals.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Five touches in preseason opener
Rotowire
Williams rushed four times for 15 yards and caught one of his two targets for five yards in Sunday's 34-30 preseason win over the Colts.
Williams played just nine snaps as the starter in the Broncos' first preseason game. The veteran running back was unable to get much going with such little playing time, but his limited usage in the opener should hint at his secure spot atop the depth chart ahead of Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Audric Estime. Williams continues to receive high praise from the Denver coaching staff while his surgically repaired knee could be stronger than it was in a disappointing 2023 season. The 24-year-old also lost weight this offseason in an attempt to improve his conditioning, which could help him to get back to the form of his impressive rookie season.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Suiting up in preseason opener
Rotowire
Williams is warming up to play with the first-team offense in Denver's preseason opener versus Indianapolis on Sunday, Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post reports.
The Broncos are set to play most of their starters Sunday, though Williams is unlikely to see the field for more than a series or two. The running back is poised to lead Denver's backfield in 2024 after tallying 774 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 217 attempts along with 228 yards and two more scores on 47 catches across 16 regular-season contests last year. Williams reportedly lost weight in the offseason in an effort to improve his conditioning.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Looks sharp at practice
Rotowire
Head coach Sean Payton noted that Williams " looked real sharp" at practice Wednesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.
Payton added that Williams has lost some weight since last season, and Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com relays that the running back currently checks in at around 220 or 221 pounds. Per Troy Renck of Denver 7 News, Williams sought to trim down this offseason based on feedback from Payton, and the 2021 second-round pick's apparent improvements in conditioning can only help him maintain his perch atop a Broncos backfield depth chart that also includes Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Finds end zone
Rotowire
Williams rushed nine times for 32 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 27-14 loss to the Raiders. He also caught seven of nine targets for 43 yards.
Williams found the end zone from two yards out during the fourth quarter. That play marked his fifth total touchdown of the campaign, and Williams finished with 217 rushes for 774 yards on the ground and 47 grabs on 58 targets for 228 yards through the air in 16 games. With the Broncos seemingly set to acquire a new starting quarterback this offseason, the team also has a decision to make on Williams, whose current contract expires after next season.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: RBs to Sit
Rotowire
Williams has scored 10.9 PPR points or less in six of his past seven games, including just 8.8 PPR points in Week 17 against the Chargers. He's shared playing time with Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine more in the past two games than he has since Week 6, and this isn't an easy matchup. In Week 1 against Las Vegas, Williams had 13 carries for 52 yards and four catches for 5 yards on six targets. Since Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach, Breece Hall (10.5 PPR points), Raheem Mostert (10.3 PPR points) and Austin Ekeler (7.8 PPR points) have struggled against the Raiders, and Williams should be used as just a flex option at best in the majority of leagues for Week 18.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Struggles with 18 touches
Rotowire
Williams rushed 15 times for 41 yards and caught all three of his targets for 17 yards in Sunday's 16-9 win over the Chargers.
Williams' struggles continued after he finished with a per-carry average below three yards for the third game running. Unlike last week against the Patriots, the tailback was unable to offset his poor rushing production with a trip to the end zone. Jaleel McLaughlin (8-44-0) finished as the Broncos' leading rusher and continues to outproduce Williams both on the ground and also as a backfield receiver. The latter should still produce double-digit touches against the Raiders in Week 18, but he has done little in recent weeks to inspire confidence in fantasy managers or DFS players.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Sit Him (Lineup Decisions)
Rotowire
Look, the matchup is not the problem -- the Bolts have let up 12-plus PPR points to a running back in all but four games this year. But with the newfound uncertainty in the Broncos offense, I'm not sure Williams is best positioned to be the one to benefit. Williams scored last week, but he also fumbled and had his second straight game with under 15 touches and under 30 total yards. The big games for Williams have been few and far between, and last week's snap distribution between Williams, Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin was closer than it's ever been. And then there's Jarrett Stidham taking over -- he's more of a downfield thrower than a check-downer, which could cost Williams some valuable targets. He makes me nervous to the point where I'm OK starting Ty Chandler, Zamir White (assuming Josh Jacobs is out), Ezekiel Elliott and Najee Harris over Williams.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Score masks poor production
Rotowire
Williams had 11 carries for 24 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for a loss of five yards in Sunday's 26-23 loss to the Patriots.
Williams finished with negative receiving yards and 20 or fewer yards from scrimmage for the second game in a row. He also coughed up his first fumble of the season. Unlike last week's dud against Detroit, the 23-year-old was able to offset the low yardage total with a short touchdown run in the first quarter. Williams also caught one of Russell Wilson's successful two-point attempts in the fourth quarter to give another boost to his managers' fantasy scores Sunday. Despite his recent struggles, Williams figures to lead Denver's backfield against the Chargers on Dec. 31.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Held to 20 yards
Rotowire
Williams rushed the ball 12 times for 27 yards in Saturday's 42-17 loss to the Lions. He added two receptions on two targets for minus-7 yards.
Williams led the backfield with 14 total touches, but it was still a disastrous performance. His longest rush of the day went for only eight yards, while eight of his carries went for two yards or fewer. Positively, Williams has at least 16 touches in seven of his last eight games, so he should carry a significant workload into a Week 16 matchup against New England.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Scores first rushing TD since 2021
Rotowire
Williams rushed 17 times for 66 yards and a touchdown while catching three of four targets for 25 yards in Sunday's 24-7 win over the Chargers.
Williams opened the scoring from three yards out with his first rushing touchdown since Week 16 of the 2021 season. He finished with at least 20 touches for the fourth time in the last six games, while Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine combined for seven carries. The robust workload can be attributed to both Williams being up to speed after tearing his ACL last year and the Broncos playing from ahead more often. Denver has won six of its last seven games heading into Saturday's tough test in Detroit.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Sleeper RBs
Rotowire
Williams has actually scored 10.1 and 10.0 PPR points in each of his past two games against Cleveland and Houston, but it feels like he's been worse than that. He does have at least three catches in five of his past six games, but he's still searching for his first rushing touchdown of the year. The Chargers matchup is favorable since they've allowed three running backs to score at least 13.2 PPR points in their past four games, and Williams should be considered a low-end No. 2 running back in Week 14.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Held to 70 total yards
Rotowire
Williams rushed the ball 13 times for 46 yards in Sunday's 22-17 loss to the Texans. He added three catches on three targets for 24 yards.
Williams maintained the clear lead-back role, though he still fell short of 20 touches for the second time in his last five games. He was inefficient with his opportunity and was limited to under four yards per carry for the fifth consecutive contest. While it's positive that Williams has multiple catches in every game in that span, he's shown to be an unexplosive rusher in a mediocre offense, making him difficult to trust on a weekly basis.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Held in check by Browns
Rotowire
Williams carried the ball 18 times for 65 yards and caught three of six targets for six yards in Sunday's 29-12 win over the Browns.
The third-year back saw more than 20 touches for the third time in the last four games, but Williams wasn't able to do much with the volume. He also missed a chance to pad his production when Samaje Perine vultured a three-yard TD run in the first quarter while Williams was briefly sidelined with a neck issue, but per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post, he returned for the next drive. The six targets tied his season high, and he continues to provide a solid PPR floor by catching multiple passes in five straight games and nine of 10 this season. Williams will try to take advantage of a more generous opponent in Week 13 when the Broncos travel to Houston.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Struggles with 13 touches
Rotowire
Williams rushed 11 times for 37 yards and caught both of his targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 21-20 win over the Vikings.
Williams had a rough go of things on the ground against the Vikings, who have been stingy against the run this season (94.0 yards/game). The 23-year-old was also coming off consecutive games with 20-plus carries, so perhaps the talented back finally hit a wall after successfully returning from major injury this past offseason. Williams still operated as Denver's lead back, with no other RB recording more than one carry Sunday. Things won't get any easier for Williams in Week 12, as the Broncos prepare to face the Browns' top-rated defense next Sunday.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: RBs to Start
Rotowire
I don't particularly love the matchup for Williams against the Vikings, but it's hard to ignore what he's done lately. In his past three games against the Packers, Chiefs and Bills, he has at least 18 total touches and three catches. His involvement in the passing game is solid, and he caught a touchdown in each of his past two outings against Kansas City and Buffalo. Only four running backs have scored at least 13.4 PPR points against Minnesota this season, and three of them (D'Andre Swift in Week 2, Christian McCaffrey in Week 7 and Alvin Kamara in Week 10) had at least three catches. Williams is worth starting as a No. 2 running back in all leagues.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Commands 30 touches in win
Rotowire
Williams rushed 27 times for 85 yards and caught all three of his targets for 13 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-9 upset win over the Chiefs.
Williams finally delivered his first touchdown of the fantasy season after being held out of the end zone in his previous six appearances. The 23-year-old struggled to break through Kansas City's beefy front, resulting in a 3.1 yard average on his 27 rushing attempts Sunday. Despite the subpar efficiency, Williams finished near the century mark in yardage for the second consecutive week after injuries limited his production earlier this season. Williams' improved health and ballooning touch count point toward a strong second half when the Broncos return from the upcoming bye week to face the Bills on Nov. 13.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
Rotowire
I liked Williams against the Packers in Week 7, and he had his best game of the season with 12.6 PPR points. He also had a season-high 18 touches as the Broncos had a rare 19-17 win. In Week 6 at Kansas City, Williams only had 10 carries for 52 yards, and I expect him to struggle again in the rematch at home. Williams has yet to score a touchdown this year, and he's still sharing touches with Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine. The Chiefs have only allowed three total touchdowns to running backs this season, and only three running backs have scored more than 9.9 PPR points against Kansas City in seven games. Williams is a flex option at best in Week 8.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: Approaches 100 yards
Rotowire
Williams rushed 15 times for 82 yards and caught three of four targets for 14 yards in Sunday's 19-17 win over the Packers.
Williams posted season highs in carries and yards on the ground. His 5.5 yards per rush was also his best this term, giving him consecutive games with over 5.0 per attempt. Coming off last year's knee injury, Williams appears to be getting back to his best form. However, with no touchdowns through six contests, his ceiling is limited going into Week 8 versus the Chiefs.
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Broncos' Javonte Williams: RBs to Start
Rotowire
I'm curious to see how the Broncos use Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine in Week 7 against the Packers, but Perine is dealing with a leg injury and might not play. If Perine is out then that makes it easier to lean on Williams and McLaughlin as Fantasy options, and I like Williams better given his expected role. He should lead the Broncos in touches, and he had 10 carries for 52 yards in Week 6 at Kansas City after missing one game with a hip injury. McLaughlin will likely be a change-of-pace option, and this is a great matchup against the Packers, who have allowed four running backs in five games to score at least 17.5 PPR points (Roschon Johnson, Bijan Robinson, David Montgomery and Josh Jacobs). I view Williams as a No. 2 running back in all leagues, and McLaughlin is a flex as a sleeper.
