The Denver Broncos saw some of their now-former players depart in free agency, and these two will definitely not be missed. Players come and go in teams' quests to build a Super Bowl contender. The Denver Broncos are no different, as they have already seen several players find new homes.
This is why building a winning team is so hard - there are so many players and pieces that makeup an NFL roster. It's up to the front office to bring the right players in and to let the right players leave. Well, as free agency settles down and teams turn their focus to the 2025 NFL Draft, will the Denver Broncos soon realize they made the right move to let this free agents leave?
Denver Broncos definitely won't miss these two departed free agents
Riley Dixon, P
Riley Dixon had two tenures with the Denver Broncos in 2016-2017 and 2023-2024. Dixon was solid during his second tenure with the team, but it felt like he left a lot of meat on the bone and really wasn't anything special.
Dixon averaged 46.7 yards per punt and 42 net yards per punt. He ranked 22nd in yards per punt and 10th in net yards per punt. The Broncos punt coverage was always quite good, but the broad statistics would tell us that Denver probably isn't going to miss Dixon, who also seemed to disappear in big games.
The Broncos high-stakes game against the Cincinnati Bengals was one of the worst games of the season for Riley Dixon, for example. Overall, the Broncos will probably end up finding a more efficient punter in 2025 and will not regret letting Dixon leave.
Javonte Williams RB
Javonte Williams averaged less than four yard per carry for the second year in a row with the Denver Broncos in 2024, rushing for just 513 yards on 139 carries. Williams only averaged 3.6 yards per carry in 2023.
The knee injury he suffered in 2022 still seems to be plaguing him today, and while he could always bounce back from that with his new team, the Dallas Cowboys, Denver was right to let Williams depart. He was almost unplayable as a runner, but did at least offer decent pass protection.
A huge reason why the Denver Broncos run game never took off was because Javonte Williams was so underwhelming. This is a tough business sometimes, but the Broncos needed to move on from their former 2021 NFL Draft pick. The hope here is that Denver can grab one of the top RBs in the 2025 NFL Draft and find their true RB1 for the future.
If so, the run game is going to take a huge leap in 2025.