Javonte Williams was ‘real sharp’ as camp begins — thanks to shedding weight

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Javonte Williams exploded Wednesday.

In the first of two “acclimation days” designed to ramp up before the Broncos open training camp, the fourth-year running back seized the attention of onlookers from the first team-period repetition when he took a handoff from Jarrett Stidham, made a sharp cut and then burst through a hole, reaching full gallop as quick as a hiccup for what would have been an explosive, long gain under game conditions.

It wasn’t all that Williams did Wednesday, but it was perhaps the first moment since he suffered a horrific knee injury in an October 2022 Broncos loss at Las Vegas that he looked like his pre-injury self.

“I thought Javonte looked real sharp,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.

But it wasn’t just that Williams was further removed from the injury that happened nearly 22 months ago. It was that the burly running back spent time in the offseason shedding weight. The result was a running back who looked much different than the one who went through OTAs and minicamp looking devoid of the burst that other runners such as Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine displayed.

Williams didn’t look like a RB1 in May and June. When the Broncos reconvened Wednesday, he did.

“He looks trim,” Payton said. “Looked much different, his weight’s down and I’m proud of him.”

Listed by the Broncos at 220 pounds, Payton wanted to get Williams back to his college weight, which was listed at 212 pounds.

SEAN PAYTON TO JAVONTE WILLIAMS: “WHAT DID YOU WEIGH HERE?”

One day in the offseason, Payton found himself watching film of Javonte Williams when he starred at North Carolina. Heas part of a deep stable of skill-position players that surrounded future NFL quarterback Sam Howell. The result was one of the most dynamic offenses in recent college football, a unit that was undercut by a defense that bled points, giving up at least 40 on four separate occasions. Somehow, the Tar Heels won two of those games.

Williams was dynamic. But he wasn’t the only running back in the mix; he split time with Michael Carter, an eventual New York Jets draft pick now with the Arizona Cardinals.

So, as Payton watched footage of Williams, he kept that in mind when bringing up the weight issue.

“It’s the presentation that’s important because there were two backs on that team,” Payton said. “And I said, “This is the one I want. And I don’t know which one is that. Is that you?”

Payton was playing coy; he knew full well that he was watching Williams. But how do you bring up a matter like weight delicately? For Payton, that was the path, and the conversation hit full speed — not unlike Williams himself Wednesday.

Sean Payton said he watched Javonte Williams' @UNCFootball film and told him, "This is the back I want," and asked, "What did you weigh here?"

"He knew he wanted to get to (his) '21, '20 (weight)," Payton said. A slimmed-down Williams was explosive and quick today. pic.twitter.com/MbssD3PHgm

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 24, 2024

“I’m asking him questions. And I said, ‘This is the back I want,’ and, ‘What did you weigh here?'” Payton said. “And, oftentimes, runners, receivers and corners can — not intentionally — but they can add weight in the weight room.

“Yet at those positions, I kind of like their college senior-year weight. And it’s early in the league. Some of them are going to put on healthy weight.

“And I think his goal, even in the spring, he knew he wanted to get to (his) ’21, ’20 (weight).”

And the result is a running back who — for one day, at least — looks like his old self. Pads will reveal more. But if Williams can stack good days, a return to his old form seems like far more of a possibility than it was just six weeks ago.