Denver Broncos: 11 young players to watch closely at training camp

2. Javonte Williams, RB (age: 21)

The Denver Broncos pretty aggressively pursued Javonte Williams in the 2021 NFL Draft. They thought about trading into the first round after selecting Patrick Surtain II in order to get Miami pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, who was ultimately picked by the Dolphins.

That didn’t come to fruition, so George Paton struck a deal on day two with the Atlanta Falcons to move up a handful of spots and steal Williams away from the Miami Dolphins.

Eye for an eye, I guess?

Williams was the Broncos’ RB1 after his final season at North Carolina, and for good reason. This guy is an explosive, tough, physical, three-down running back.

You don’t have to look much further than the incredible behind-the-scenes looks at the Denver Broncos’ draft room to see that this is a guy who was highly prioritized and highly coveted by the front office and scouting department.

It’s not always easy to gauge how running backs are doing at training camp. It’s not 100 percent full contact, so backs are not exactly facing live bullets out there.

With that being said, what you will want to be watching for regarding Javonte Williams is how frequently he’s involved with the number one offense.

The Broncos still have Melvin Gordon for this season, at the very least, and Williams is going to get a lot of work as a rookie.

We may get a glimpse at just how much work that will be with his reps in training camp.