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Denver Broncos rookies: Starter or sideline in 2021 season?

By Sayre Bedinger

Jun 1, 2021; Englewood, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams (33) during organized team activities at the UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2021; Englewood, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams (33) during organized team activities at the UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Denver Broncos, Javonte Williams
Denver Broncos 2021 NFL Draft pick Javonte Williams. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

2. Javonte Williams, RB

Fantasy football players will probably not love the Denver Broncos’ backfield alignment heading into the 2021 season, but the Broncos are certainly not going to be complaining.

The team made the difficult decision to move on from 2018 undrafted free agent star and local prospect Phillip Lindsay in favor of Javonte Williams, the team’s RB1 in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Broncos love Williams, so much so that one of their top front office personnel said in a Draft documentary from the team that they likened Williams to Nick Chubb and a little Zeke Elliott.

The Denver Broncos’ incumbent RB1 is Melvin Gordon. Gordon came over from the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 free agency and did basically what he’s always done in the league. He was a solid back who played all three downs and had 10 total touchdowns.

He basically gets 10 touchdowns in his sleep at this point.

But Williams is not coming in to simply be Gordon’s RB2 — he’s going to snipe some of the RB1 work.

It would be a little surprising if, by the time the season is over, Williams is not the clear RB1 for the Denver Broncos unless he is injured or simply can’t get things going for whatever reason.

Verdict: Starter

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