Sometimes NFL players are just like us. They get a little change of scenery in their lives and things just start to get better.
Former Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams continued his incredible career renaissance in 2025, passing 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career and doing so in 13 games in his first season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Williams had 17 carries for 67 yards and 1 touchdown for the Cowboys in a Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, giving him 1,027 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns this season. He spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Broncos and signed a 1-year, $3 million free agent contract with the Cowboys in March.
“Javonte Williams now has 1,000 rushing yards on the season,” Underdog NFL wrote on its official X account. “It’s his first time reaching 1K rushing.”
Want to know how Williams’ accomplishment is even more incredible? He leads all NFL running backs in pass blocking snaps.
“Javonte Williams leads all NFL running backs with 104 pass block snaps, per PFF, and his 97.9% pass block efficiency is third among running backs in 2025 with at least 50 pass block snaps, behind Travis Etienne Jr. (99.1% on 54 snaps) and Rhamondre Stevenson (98.3% on 61 snaps),” NFL insider Ed Werder wrote on his official X account.
Time With Broncos Came to Unceremonious End
Williams was a second round pick (No. 54 overall) by the Broncos in the 2021 NFL draft after rushing for over 1,100 yards and earning All-American honors for the University of North Carolina in 2020.
His career took off like a rocket with the Broncos when he earned All-Rookie honors in 2021 after he racked up 1,219 yards of total offense and 7 touchdowns, including 903 rushing yards. In 2022, a devastating knee injury put Williams’ career in jeopardy after he tore his ACL, LCL and PCL in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the 2 seasons after his injury, Williams was almost completely ineffective. He led the Broncos with 774 rushing yards in 2023 then again with 513 rushing yards in 2024 but averaged just 3.65 yards per carry in that stretch.
Now, he’s averaging a career high 4.8 yards per carry and looks like he could cash in with a lucrative — for a running back — free agent contract this offseason.
Broncos Haven’t Had 1K Rusher Since 2019
The Broncos retooled their running backs room without Williams, drafting UCF’s RJ Harvey in the second round and signing injury prone free agent J.K. Dobbins to a 1-year, $2.065 million contract on June 10.
Dobbins was on pace to become Denver’s first 1,000-yard rusher before he suffered a season-ending foot injury in a Week 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harvey still has an outside chance to hit 1,000 yards of total offense. He has 501 yards of total offense and a whopping 8 touchdowns — 279 rushing yards and 222 receiving yards.
Given his age, Harvey might end up being the best move the Broncos could have made — Williams’ success be damned.
“The Cowboys could really have used some more juice in the backfield tonight,” Locked on Cowboys podcast host Marcus Mosher wrote on his official X account after the loss to the Lions. “Whiffing on the Jaydon Blue pick forced them to put a ton of miles on Javonte Williams and you can tell he is slowing down.”
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