Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams’ 2024 fantasy football outlook seems to be on the rise after head coach Sean Payton’s positive training camp comments.
After a down 2023 coming off a serious injury, I’ll examine Williams’ 2024 fantasy value and let you know if he’s worth drafting.
Javonte Williams’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
The ZeroRB fantasy football strategy is a popular one, and with Williams going as the RB32 in PPR leagues, Williams could very well be a player who fits that bill.
The Broncos have some other running backs on the depth chart that do leave me with some question marks, though, like Jaleel McLaughlin, Samaje Perine, and the newly drafted Audric Estime.
According to TruMedia, Williams had 217 carries for 774 yards and three scores. His longest run went for just 21 yards, and one of his three touchdowns came on fourth down.
Of his 217 carries, 198 came on first and second down, and he didn’t eclipse 3.8 yards per carry. On the year, he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
Williams scored his other two touchdowns on first downs, but it took, on average, 63 carries per touchdown.
Yeah, it was a down year.
To be fair, Williams was coming off an ACL and MCL tear in October 2022, and almost a year to the day later, he had a hip flexor injury that caused him to miss a game.
According to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette, Williams dropped 11 pounds, and Payton was happy to see that. Payton also mentioned liking what he’s seeing from him this offseason.
Williams had this to say about it:
“It was just one of my goals to get a little slimmer, just to move a little bit better in training camp, things like that,’’ Williams said. “… So anything [Payton] says, I’m going to listen to it, and just for him to even care and just to tell me, ‘This is what we want you to be when you come back to [training camp] to have the best chance to do what you got to do.’”
Also, during preseason Week 1, Williams was the clear-cut RB1 and will be to start the year.
The Broncos have a Week 14 bye week.
Is Williams a Good Fantasy Pick?
Yes, Williams is worth a pick — I’ll take the chance — but I’ll also be ready to pivot due to his injury history.
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McLaughlin had 76 carries last season and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Estime was a productive rusher at Notre Dame, but Williams will get a chance to be “the guy.”
Williams could be a prime sell candidate if he has a good game within the first few weeks of the season.
But again, this is Williams’ job to lose, so draft him with confidence at RB32 in PPR leagues.
