Could Javonte Williams return? ‘There’s a chance,’ George Paton says
Feb 25, 2025, 1:59 PM | Updated: 2:03 pm
INDIANAPOLIS — Javonte Williams might not be done as a Denver Broncos running back.
But even though general manager George Paton kept the door ajar for the 2021 second-round pick to return to the team, Paton also noted the unusual depth and quality of this year’s running-back draft class.
“Well, I mean, there’s a chance we bring Javonte back, and I think Javonte is one of the best pass protectors in the league,” Paton said during a 15-minute question-and-answer session with media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.
“And I think he’s still young and he’s still ascending, another year removed from the injury. But I think there’s so many different flavors in this draft of runner, and we have some backs that we like.”
When Williams was asked about his future immediately after the Broncos’ 31-7 wild-card loss in Buffalo, he was philosophical.
“I mean, I think about it all the time, but it’s not really too much that I just wonder about,” “>Williams said. “I mean, everything will happen. Everything happens for a reason. So however it turn out, I’ll be right.”
With Javonte Williams’ contract expiring, I asked him whether he’d thought about his future in the midst of the season. “I mean, I think about it all the time, but it’s not really too much that I just wonder about,” he said. “… Everything happens for a reason. So however it… pic.twitter.com/n33OygpJ1e
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 13, 2025
Williams hasn’t been the same back since that October 2022 injury noted by Paton, a horrific turn of fortune that saw him tear the anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and the posterolateral corner of his right knee.
Although he posted a respectable 6.7-yards-per-catch average on 52 receptions last season, he posted a second-straight season of under 4.0 yards per carry — 3.7, to be exact — despite playing behind an offensive line that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in run-block win rate.
“I think certainly improving our running game is going to be a priority and we feel like we’ve got the right offensive line and the right group of players to give us a chance at that,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.
And that leads back to the draft — and the well-discussed search for a “joker” running back that has been fruitless so far.
“It’s going to be an interesting process. Already has been, just to get to know these runners. I know we’re searching for the joker,” Paton said.
That’s hard to find — but this year appears to have options.
“I think it’s a good year to maybe go get a back because there’s so many,” Paton said.
