Denver Broncos: What the Jaguars are getting in Dave Williams

The Jacksonville Jaguars are poaching Dave Williams off the Denver Broncos practice squad. What kind of player are they getting?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly poaching running back Dave Williams off the Denver Broncos’ practice squad, which was already at just nine players after the team promoted Colby Wadman to the active roster last week.

Ryan O’Halloran, who came to Denver to cover the Broncos this year after covering the Jaguars in Jacksonville had the initial scoop.

So, what are the Jaguars getting in this kid? What are the Broncos losing?

After the Broncos surprisingly drafted Williams in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft after already picking up Royce Freeman in the third round, we dug into the limited tape he had in his college career, where he spent time at both South Carolina and Arkansas.

You can view my in-depth scouting report on Williams here.

Here are the cliff notes.

Williams was a very solid between the tackles runner with better long speed than it appears on tape, and a thick lower half making it hard for defenders to bring him down on first contact.

He reminded me a bit of a more refined version of Juwan Thompson coming out of Duke, where he could run between the tackles when asked, play special teams, and also give you an excellent pass protector and solid third-down back as a whole.

Perhaps the thing Williams was best at on tape — pass protecting — is an area he will excel in Jacksonville protecting Blake Bortles.

The Jaguars have a really good rushing offense already but losing Corey Grant for the season stings a bit. Leonard Fournette has also struggled with an injury this season, making T.J. Yeldon the team’s leader in carries ahead of Bortles.

It’s not likely that Williams will get a starting opportunity in Jacksonville but if the Jaguars continue to struggle with injuries, we might see him get 30 or so carries by the time this season is over.