Sean Payton found himself watching running back film one day during the leadup to the 2024 NFL Draft.

He had a running back from North Carolina on-screen that he really liked. Powerful runner. Capable of breaking tackles. A pretty decent receiver even though he didn’t get a ton of targets in the passing game.

The guy averaged 7.3 yards per carry his junior year and 6.3 per carry for his career.

Payton and the Broncos, though, didn’t select him in April’s draft.

Turns out, they already had the player on their roster for the last three years.

Now it looks like they might have the best version of the player back on the field.

That’s Javonte Williams.

In a moment undoubtedly orchestrated by Payton, Williams stopped by to see the head coach at one point this spring while Payton had his college film on.

“It was kind of crazy seeing me in a North Carolina jersey and him watching that, but like I said, he knows what he’s talking about, so I’m going to listen,” Williams said.

The order: Trim up. Get back to the guy in the powder blues.

So Williams spent the summer cutting out snacks and nighttime eating, dropped 12 pounds to get down to 221, and showed up for training camp feeling lean and strong.

“I called him in and I said, ‘This is the runner I want,’” Payton said. “That player that I saw was versatile — outside, inside — and I think we’ve seen that from him in camp. I’m encouraged with his progress, and obviously, he’s healthier.

“He’s having a good camp.”

The fourth-year running back is entering a critical season in his career. The shelf life on NFL backs is notoriously short and seems to get shorter every year. Not only that, but Williams is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is now closing in on two full years since a devastating knee injury against Las Vegas on Oct. 4, 2022.

That not only ended his second pro season, but it also impacted his entire third year. He spent all of last offseason focused on recovery and pushing hard just to get back to the field.

“Last year’s offseason was pretty much just rehabbing and trying to regain strength,” he said. “Even trying to learn how to run again and things like that. This offseason, just being able to get away and focus strictly on football, drills, and moving.

“I feel like it was a huge benefit.”

Factor in a veteran offensive line, potentially a mobile quarterback in rookie Bo Nix and a set of running backs that overall has a combination of skill sets, and Williams should be at the tip of a running game spear that’s much sharper than a year ago.

One key area where the shed pounds and increased explosiveness could really help Williams: In the passing game.

Consider this: Williams had a career-high 47 catches in 2023. If it feels as though that flew under the radar, it’s in part because he turned those grabs into just 228 yards (4.9 per catch). According to Pro Football Focus data, only four of his catches and six targets out of 58 came past the line of scrimmage and outside the numbers. The rest were either behind the line of scrimmage, between the numbers, or both. When he catches the ball, there will be people around him and often in front of him.

Getting some burst back and trending back toward his early career ability to break tackles and make people miss could turn modest receiving numbers into solid ones very quickly.

The Broncos easily led the NFL in target share to running backs (31.9%) last year. And though quarterback Russell Wilson is gone, it stands to reason that the backs will be heavily involved in the passing game once again this fall.

Payton has a long history of it. Over 14 seasons in New Orleans — taking out an injury-scrambled 2010 — the back with the second-most touches on Payton’s Saints teams averaged 155 per year. He had nine seasons where a back finished with 70-plus catches. And though there may not be an Alvin Kamara on the Broncos’ roster, they have the kind of balance to meet or exceed last year when Williams (No. 17), Samaje Perine (No. 18) and Jaleel McLaughlin (No. 39) each finished in the top 39 in the NFL in targets among running backs.

2023 Broncos RBs in the passing game

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* Pro Football Reference data

2023 RB target share by team

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* Compiled using PFF data

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Originally Published: August 29, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.