The Denver Broncos got some great news regarding one player on offense that will help out quarterback Russell Wilson this upcoming season.
The Denver Broncos spent this offseason trying to wrong the errors of the previous season.
They have a new head coach, Sean Payton, following a trade with the New Orleans Saints. Not to mention that they brought in some players, like offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, defensive end Zach Allen, and wide receiver Marquez Callaway. But perhaps the most important thing is that Payton gets the most out of quarterback Russell Wilson, who had a dreadful first season in Denver.
At organized team activities, the team received some good news regarding one of their key players on offense.
During practice this past Thursday, third-year running back Javonte Williams was spotted wearing a jersey and helmet and participating on the side with other injured players. This comes after Payton said after their rookie minicamp that he expects Williams to be ready and cleared for the start of training camp.
Javonte Williams spotted at Broncos OTAs
“We do a medical report every night; we list the players as full, limited, or out, and she’s working in a limited capacity,” Payton said, h/t The Athletic. “We’re being smart. I said this to you before that we were encouraged heading into this time of the season, so it’s good to have him out there.”
This is good news for the Broncos, as Williams’ presence was missed greatly for the majority of last season.
The Broncos traded up in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft to select Williams out of North Carolina. Williams proved that moving up was the right move for Denver in his first season, as he ran for 903 yards and four touchdowns on 203 carries while catching 43-of-53 targets for 316 yards and three touchdowns. These statistics call came after starting in just 1-of-17 games that year.
Williams was Denver’s starter last season, but in the team’s Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he tore his ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner (PLC). With that, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
At the time of the injury, Williams logged 204 rushing yards on 47 carries and 16 receptions for 76 receiving yards on 22 targets. The Broncos’ running game averaged 113.8 yards per game, which ranked 21st in the entire NFL.
This offseason, Denver added Samaje Perine and Tony Jones Jr. to their roster to build out their positional depth. However, getting Williams back before the start of the season would be huge for the Broncos. A healthy Williams gives Wilson a player to lean upon and take some pressure off of himself, especially in such an important season.