Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams had some decent expectations coming into the 2022 season. As a rookie, he carried the ball 203 times for 903 yards and four touchdowns, adding 43 receptions for 316 yards and three more scores.
He split time with veteran Melvin Gordon, but when he was given a full workload in the back his production was quite impressive. It provided a lot of optimism heading into the 2022 campaign, especially with Russell Wilson taking over as the starting quarterback.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for the Broncos last season. The offense was a mess as Wilson had the least productive season of his career and head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after one season.
A big reason that the team struggled on that side of the ball was the absence of Williams. He tore his ACL in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, which led to a revolving door of players trying to fill the void in the backfield.
Heading into Year 3, Denver is hopeful that their 2021 second-round pick can get back on the field as soon as possible. That could be what occurs as the Broncos provided an encouraging update on his status this week at OTAs.
As shared via the NFL.com News Roundup, Williams was a limiting participant during OTAs. But, encouragingly, he was seen doing some individual work by James Palmer of NFL Network. Palmer shared that the former Tar Heel was cutting and running routes on his own.
That is some very positive progress for someone closing in on eight months from the time of the injury occurring. He still has three more months until the regular season gets underway, so there is plenty of time to continue rehabbing. While the Broncos are assuredly going to take things slow to avoid overworking or a setback, Williams seems to tentatively be on track to be on the field with his teammates for Week 1.
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