Opponent Breakdown: Steelers Get First Glimpse of Javonte Williams
Sunday's matchup against the Denver Broncos will be the first time that the Pittsburgh Steelers will see Javonte Williams in a pro uniform. However, those within the Steelers organization are already very familiar with his abilities.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed to the Denver media this week that the Steelers "Thought very highly of him and still do." Thinking back to the draft process, Tomlin recalled, "We looked at all of what I would describe as A runners, and obviously Williams was and is one of those."
Throughout the draft process leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft, the Steelers brass made it known that they had intended to fix their rushing attack, which was one of the league's worst a year ago. There were three primary targets that were seen to be in the mix in the event that the team selected a running back in the first two rounds: Alabama's Najee Harris, Clemson's Travis Etienne and North Carolina's Javonte Williams.
The Steelers wound up selecting Najee Harris with the 24th overall pick, the betting favorite all along. Etienne would be picked shortly after by Jacksonville. Williams would have to wait three picks into the second round to hear his name called by the Denver Broncos. From that point on, these three fantastic talents will forever be linked to one another.
Williams is an extremely talented young player that's a force to be reckoned with whenever he touches the ball. His 31-yard run against the Baltimore Ravens earned him a Maurice Jones-Drew comparison from Steelers captain Cam Heyward. The run being referenced was one where Williams showed off the contact balance that made him such a special draft prospect, breaking several tackles. He even took Ravens star corner for a lengthy, 20-yard ride to cap the playoff.
That play was just a slight glimpse into what Williams could become in the NFL. Williams's situation is unlike that of Najee Harris in a few ways. The most significant is that, as of right now, he's not the starter on his offense. The Broncos signed Melvin Gordon in free agency a year prior to drafting the rookie tailback. Gordon and Williams give the Broncos a nice two-headed monster attack on the ground to complement Teddy Bridgewater's efforts through the air. With both runners splitting carries, you can almost always count on them being fresh throughout the game.
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Williams is just an extremely tough ball carrier to bring to the ground which was something that made him coveted coming out of college. He's a compactly built runner who plays low to the ground and seeks to deal out punishment to defenders. Arm tackles just aren't going to get it done against this guy. Despite being more of a prototypical power back, he's not stiff and possesses nice wiggle whenever weaving in and out of defenders.
While not being used much in the passing game thus far, he's not someone who's incapable of contributing in that area, either. There were some drops on his college tape that were concerning but you also saw enough flashes to think that he had a good chance to develop into a well-rounded back.
Even as a solid pass protector in college, pass protection is always a concern with rookie running backs. This is an area where they tend to have a bit of trouble early on in their careers. However, Williams has acclimated himself pretty well early on for the Broncos. Last week, he had a nice blitz pick-up against Patrick Queen, who came through free up the middle. He's looked comfortable so far when he's tasked with recognizing blitzes and has even cleaned up some of the technical things that were lacking on his college tape. If he continues improving in this area, he's going to make it difficult for Pat Shurmur to take him off of the field.
Now without Tyson Alualu, The Steelers' defense has struggled to stop the run. Those issues are far more exaggerated whenever Cam Heyward is off of the field. On tape, you've seen guys like Isaiah Buggs and Isaiahh Loudermilk struggle to stay in their assigned gaps, frequently finding themselves just washed out of plays. They are going to need some of these depth pieces to step their game up a notch while we wait for the hopeful return of Stephon Tuitt, who is still recovering from surgery.
With Denver potentially being without their top three receivers on Sunday, they could elect to lean on that two-headed monster in the backfield. Both Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler are already on injured reserve. Courtland Sutton rolled an ankle late in practice this week and is currently listed as questionable. It certainly feels like a game where Denver would prefer to get both running backs about 15 carries and punish the Steelers in the trenches.
However, if the Steelers can find a way to limit their success, they could end up finding themselves back in the win column.
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