Denver Broncos: Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams highlights

Highlights for new Denver Broncos running back Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams, who will wear jersey no. 30 and try to make an impression with two games left…

The Denver Broncos let go of veteran running back Bernard Pierce on Monday, and replaced his roster spot with Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Kentucky who has a chance to make an impression in the team’s final two preseason games.

Williams was waived by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he initially signed as an undrafted free agent after leaving Kentucky as a true junior.

Williams’ story is inspiring, as just before his final collegiate season, his sister tragically passed away. Football was a major part of the healing process for Williams, but making an NFL roster has not been easy and could prove to be even more elusive with only a few weeks to make an impression on the Broncos’ coaching staff.

But Williams now has a bit of an edge, in that he has the eye of the scouting department which obviously made the decision to put a waiver claim on a player that might have passed all the way through anyway.

The Broncos have obviously seen something they like in Williams, and I’m here to share with you some of that.

There are a number of other individual games on YouTube as well.

A simple ‘Google’ of the name Stanley Williams does not yield the most fabulous results. It’s potentially why Williams goes by the nickname ‘Boom’, a confusing nickname considering his game is much more ‘lightning’ than ‘thunder’.

Averaging nearly seven yards per carry over his collegiate career, Williams has exceptional burst and lateral quickness, but at 5-foot-7, 190 pounds, he is a very small back who will need to carve out a niche on special teams potentially as a returner to someday stick in the NFL.

The potential is there for Williams to be a change-of-pace running back and contribute as a receiver on third downs, but with such little time to make an impression and a deep backfield in Denver, he could be out here vying for a practice squad position.

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That would mean the Broncos would have to subject him to waivers again, and if he gets a chance in a game to shine and does, that could prove difficult to do.

Those things seem to work out more often than it seems, though, so the Broncos should have a good chance of keeping this kid around if he can prove himself in his ‘audition’.

Williams excels at making plays in space, so look for the Broncos to get him some opportunities on the perimeter. He’s not a between the tackles runner at this point, but man is he impressive athletically.

At the Scouting Combine, Williams posted a 4.18 second 20-yard shuttle, and 6.86 second three-cone drill. Those numbers were among the best at his position, and he also put up 18 bench press reps of 225 pounds.

For his body type and overall size, that’s an incredible number. Add in a 4.51 second 40-yard dash and 36-inch vertical jump, and Williams was one of the more impressive pound-for-pound Combine performers this past year.

We’ll see if he takes advantage of this second chance in the NFL with the Denver Broncos.