Broncos RB Javonte Williams Predicted to be NFL Rushing Champ
Peter Schrager has hosted a segment on Good Morning Football for the past few years, predicting the top-10 break-out players of the coming season. In years past, Schrager has listed names like Patrick Mahomes, Devin White, and last year, he had Ceedee Lamb as his top choice.
For the most part, Schrager's predictions have been pretty spot-on with players living up to the hype set for them heading into the season. This year, Schrager's top choice for break-out player of the year is the Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams, who he also pegged to finish as the NFL's rushing champion in 2022.
“My pick to lead the league in rushing this season is Broncos rookie running back turned second-year guy Javonte Williams.”
On one of last year's GMF segments called 'Angry Runs,' Williams was a consistent choice among the finalists. He came home with two scepters for the year and is now predicted to continue that great run into the 2022 season.
In Year 2, Schrager expects Williams to be a, “little bit wiser, a little bit stronger, and a little bit faster.” It could all add up to a career-defining season for the young running back.
Williams is expected to be the Broncos' starter come Week 1. I don't agree with Schrager's prediction that Williams will lead the league in rushing because the Broncos do not need him to be the workhorse this season.
The Broncos have a great backup in Melvin Gordon who can ease the workload and save Williams for when the carries matter most down the stretch and beyond. If Williams were expected to carry the load this season as Denver's bell-cow, I probably would agree there is a good chance that he could fight for that top spot in rushing yards.
My expectation for Williams is that he'll receive close to 55% of the carries with the other 45% going to Gordon. During his college career, Williams was in a split-backfield system at North Carolina and seems comfortable with sharing the load.
Plus, Nathaniel Hackett just came over from Green Bay, where the Packers have had two running backs splitting the carries to great success in A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones. With everyone involved coming from this idea of splitting the carries to maximize the talent, I have a hard time seeing Williams get the necessary touches to really push for that top spot.
Williams will still have an outstanding year barring injury, though, because of his skill set now paired with a quarterback like Russell Wilson that can keep defenses honest and the boxes light for the run game. NFL analyst, and former pro QB, Dan Orlovsky recently predicted the Broncos to win the division in large part because they are the most balanced team in the AFC West.
The ability to win with both the running and passing game should give the Broncos a huge leg up over the rest of the division. I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Broncos set up defenses and make them choose which threat to try to contain.
Don't shocked to see the Broncos rush for 200 yards one week, and then throw for 350-plus yards the next. It's really nice that Wilson won't have to carry this team to victory every single week for this offense to be successful.
Williams and Gordon could be the talk of the NFL as the league's best running back duo by the end of the season.
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