Denver Broncos: Five most underrated offseason moves

3. Drafting Javonte Williams

Again, this is another move that may not seem underrated to most, but I’m including this on the list for good reason. When George Paton became the general manager of the Broncos, one of the biggest questions was what the new front office would do with fan-favorite running back Phillip Lindsay.

Lindsay was a restricted free agent, coming off a bit of a disappointing season after seeing success in his first two seasons with the team. Originally, the team placed an original round tender on the Colorado product, but seeing as he was signed as an undrafted free agent, the tender didn’t hold much weight.

It was clear Lindsay and the team were heading towards divorce after the team signed former Vikings running back Mike Boone. Soon after, it was made official when they rescinded Lindsay’s tender and allowed him to hit the free-agent market where he would eventually sign a deal with the Houston Texans. This meant the Broncos could very well be in the market for a running back during the 2021 NFL Draft.

When it was announced that the Broncos had not only selected North Carolina running back Javonte Williams, but traded up for him in the second round of the draft, there was a bit of disappointment that Paton gave away draft capital for him. However, some saw this as an underrated power move by the new GM to snag arguably the best running back in the draft class.

Williams will likely split or share the majority of the load with veteran Melvin Gordon, but he is primed to be a feature back in the NFL before we know it. This move helps set up the Broncos’ offense for beyond 2021 and gave them a potential premier running back in the league.