Broncos Trade-Up, Draft North Carolina RB Javonte Williams at Pick 35 in Round 2
The Denver Broncos continue to keep draftniks and fans alike guessing in the 2021 NFL draft. Less than 24 hours removed from passing on two highly-rated quarterbacks to draft Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II, Broncos' GM George Paton zigged again when many expected him to zag.
With Round 2 of the draft kicking off on Friday night, the Broncos packaged a deal with the Atlanta Falcons to move up from pick 40 to pick 35 overall, giving up a 2021 fourth-rounder, to select North Carolina running back Javonte Williams.
Per 9NEWS' Mike Klis, the Broncos gave up pick 114 in Round 4 to Atlanta, but got back the Falcons' sixth-round selection this year. That sixth will come in handy after Denver traded its original sixth-rounder to Carolina to acquire quarterback Teddy Bridgewater the day before the draft.
Williams is a 5-foot-10, 220-pound back who brings tremendous vision and burst to the table for the Broncos. In 2020, he rushed for 1,140 yards and 19 touchdowns for the Tarheels, averaging a whopping 7.3 yards per carry.
Williams also threw in 25 receptions for 305 yards and three touchdowns through the air. All in, he put 22 scores on the board and nearly 1,500 yards from scrimmage while sharing the touches with teammate Michael Carter, who himself rushed for 1,245 yards and nine scores. Carter will soon hear his name called, too.
Here's what Mile High Huddle's Lance Sanderson said about Williams in our Finding Broncos scouting report.
A compact but thick running back, Williams is an explosive runner with elite patience and vision behind the line of scrimmage. He does a great job of allowing his offensive linemen to go to work and fulfill their responsibilities, setting up defenders out of position and creating running lanes, especially in outside-zone schemes.
Williams had some struggles in pass protection due to poor technique at times, but he is more than willing enough to stick his nose in there and get dirty. He also isn’t the most powerful runner in short-yardage and goal-line scenarios, but that had more to do with the North Carolina O-line than with Williams as there was nowhere for him to go.
He is much more of an open-field runner than a true pounder, but he should do fine in a gap scheme if he's hafted to one. As a pass-catcher out of the backfield, North Carolina utilized Williams primarily on flat routes, although there were some angle and circle routes that got him the ball quickly in the second level.
There’s a lot to work with Williams, however, his route running needs some more nuance to help him create some more separation. He has smooth enough hands to become a reliable receiver and true three-down player at the NFL level.
As for Williams' fit within the scheme of Broncos' offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, here's what Sanderson said.
Williams would be able to work well when Pat Shurmur runs his inside-zone and pin-and-pull blocks that allow the ball-carrier to use his vision and patience to his advantage, as well as becoming a legitimate pass-catching option as a primary receiver or check-down option.
When the Broncos said goodbye to Phillip Lindsay, it was a big surprise. One of the biggest reasons for it being an eyebrow-raising move was the reality of both Melvin Gordon and Royce Freeman entering a contract year.
Gordon enters 2021 as the clear RB1 with Freeman set to compete with the newly-signed Mike Boone for RB2 duties. Now, Williams gets thrown into that competition, which should make for some explosive fireworks in training cmap.
Paton added a dynamic playmaker in Williams to not only preempt a future roster hole but to give Drew Lock, or Teddy Bridgewater (if he wins the job), yet another potent arrow in the Broncos' offensive quiver. Williams will need to hone his receiving chops some to fully realize Shumur's pass-catching vision for his running backs but the base skill-set is there.
Be sure to check out MHH's Day 2 War Room where all our draft experts are discussing and reacting to the Broncos' moves in real-time. Embedded below.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
