Vic Fangio Describes 'Anxiety' in Broncos RB Javonte Williams' Rookie Debut

Vic Fangio had to see it to believe it. He saw it.

He saw it as Denver Broncos rookie running back Javonte Williams punished the Minnesota Vikings with one bull-headed carry after another in Saturday's preseason victory. He saw it in Williams' 5.8 yards-per-tote average. He saw it on Williams' four-yard touchdown plunge negated by a penalty.

The grizzled Broncos head coach was "really anxious."

No more.

"Was anxious to see him because you can look at running backs all you want in practice and they can do good and get better," Fangio explained following the 33-6 blowout. "But ultimately the number one job of a running back is to be able to make people miss or break tackles. And he was able to do that. And you could only find that in a game. So I was really anxious to see him, and obviously he didn't disappoint."

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With veteran starter Melvin Gordon (groin) sidelined and backup RB Mike Boone (quad) also on the shelf, Williams only received a handful of attempts (5) amid his NFL debut. His first two went for 11 and 13 yards, respectively. He punctuated the second by literally flipping head over heels — and if your heart skipped a beat, you weren't alone.

"Yeah, a little bit. It was a little nerve racking but he’s a tough kid," quarterback Drew Lock said of Williams. "I said it on the sideline, he’s probably one of the youngest, calmest guys I’ve ever been around. I say young being a rookie but he’s just extremely calm. I haven’t seen him quote unquote rattled or the moments too big. I know we just played in our first preseason game, it’s not the regular season whatever it may be but being next to him back there it honestly gives me a little more calmness just being able to be relaxed because he know his job, he knows what he needs to do and when he gets the ball in his hands he runs pretty hard."

The hyped North Carolina product, true to character, sought out contact from Vikings defenders and made them pay for it. Williams repeatedly fell forward to gain additional yardage, shrugging off arm-tackles. Much like cornerback Patrick Surtain II, he passed every test administered to him and justified the club's high-round draft investment.

"They're exactly what we thought they were when we drafted them," Broncos general manager George Paton prophesized before the game.

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