The 2022 fantasy football season is truly underway as drafts fire off across the nation, meaning now is the time to dive into Denver Broncos RB Javonte Williams’ ADP to determine whether or not fantasy managers are receiving a value on draft day. How will the Broncos’ backfield split look in 2022, and how does that impact where Williams should go in upcoming fantasy football drafts?
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Javonte Williams ADP | Is he worth his current price in fantasy drafts?
As we draw closer to prime draft season for fantasy football, Williams currently has an ADP of 25, coming off the board as the RB14. For comparison, Melvin Gordon (RB37) is going around 80 picks later than Williams (ADP 105).
In PFN’s 2022 fantasy football redraft rankings, Williams is currently the RB13 with an ADP of 22, showing a similar bullish outlook. Fairly similar, I have Williams ranked as my RB14 and 25th overall. However, be sure to check back as rankings will fluctuate between now and the start of the season.
If Gordon were not back in town, Williams would be a first-round pick pretty easily. But that’s not the case, and at times, Williams is being drafted and ranked as if he is. Virtually all reports from people I trust in Denver are saying a 50/50 split again in 2022 or something very similar.
Now, that is plenty for Williams to succeed, and if Gordon missed time, he’d be a top-eight RB and a league-winner. William can succeed even in a dead-even split, as evidenced by his RB17 finish last year. But the ceiling is lowered compared to some (RB26 in PPR/game). I do prefer Williams as my RB2, but if you start out with maybe Cooper Kupp or Justin Jefferson, I’d have no complaints with Williams in Round 2. With that said, at cost, Gordon is the better value at his current ADP.
Javonte Williams’ projected fantasy value in 2022
Williams has RB1 upside. We witnessed this last season. He was fifth in forced missed tackles, and seventh in both yards after contact and 10+ yard rushes despite being 15th in carries. He did that while in a dead-even carry split, with Gordon and Williams finishing with 203 carries each.
Wiliams turned those into 903 rushing yards, just 18 yards behind his teammate, with four rushing touchdowns. Where he had the edge was in the receiving game, catching 43 of 53 targets for 316 yards and three more scores.
Weeks 12-14 gave fantasy managers a glimpse of what Williams could do in 2022, as he averaged 20.4 PPR points as the lead back. That was what managers early on were banking on, and some still are, not wanting to believe Gordon will impact Williams, which is flawed thinking, in my opinion.
It makes far too much sense for the Broncos from an NFL standpoint. You cannot go wrong with more depth, especially high-end depth. That goes doubly for teams with championship operations like the Broncos after trading for Russell Wilson. With that said, Williams is their guy, as even Gordon stated during training camp.
With more opportunities in high-leverage situations, such as goal-to-go carries or targets, Williams, who averaged 14.5 touches last season, still has RB1 upside. Those weeks will inevitably happen. But a more realistic scenario is he is a high-end RB2 with a stable floor you can rely on in 2022.