ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Who doesn’t love a late-night snack with a side of spicy Takis?
Count Javonte Williams as one of the millions of people who would sign up for that.
Unfortunately, neither are part of his diet anymore.
“A whole lot of sacrifices,” the Denver Broncos‘ running back said with a big smile on the second day of training camp, detailing how he lost 11 pounds this offseason. “The biggest thing is I didn’t eat after 7 p.m. and I just cut all of my snacks out because I like to snack a lot, like Takis and things like that. I cut out it all.”
Thanks to that, Williams enters his fourth training camp in Denver at 221 pounds, feeling lighter, quicker and faster.
“I started feeling like my old self,” he said, referring to his weight loss. “I felt a lot more shiftier.”
“I’m making a lot of progress. I’m starting to feel like my old self again,” the former second-round pick added. “This is probably the best I’ve ever felt.”
That is a scary thought for defensive players in the NFL as Williams “old self” was a player who led the NFL in broken tackles his rookie season in 2021 and appeared to be the Broncos’ next great running back. Unfortunately, a devastating knee injury in 2022 set him back.
Last year, while he was able to start the season, he spent the entirety of the offseason rehabbing his knee instead of working on his craft. This offseason has been completely different.
“Last year, the offseason I was pretty much just rehabbing, trying to regain strength and just even learn how to run again. Things like that,” Williams said. “But this offseason, just being able to get away and focus strictly on football drills and moving, I feel like it was a huge benefit.”
With his focus now set on football, and not on learning how to run again, he has his eyes set on a very lofty, but what he believes to be an achievable, goal.
“Just being the best. That’s all I think about everyday, just being the best,” Williams said with purpose. “If you reach that goal, everything else will fall in line.”
Williams’ weight loss began this offseason after a conversation with Sean Payton, where the head coach pointed to Javonte’s physique in college and said that’s the player he wants carrying the rock this year. At North Carolina, Williams was between 210 and 220 pounds. Now, he’s right back to his collegiate size.
“He’s seen a lot of great running backs come through, so anything he says, I’m going to listen to it,” Williams said about Payton’s suggestion that he lose weight. “Just for him to even care and tell me, ‘This is what I want you to be when you come back to have the best chance to do what you got to do.’ That showed me that he cared. If he put that much effort into it, I will too.”
“He knows what he’s talking about, so I’m going to listen,” Williams added.
A skinner Javonte caught the attention of the head coach on Wednesday, during the team’s first practice of training camp.
“He looks good,” Payton said with pride. “I thought he looked sharp today. He looked much different. His weight is down. I’m proud of him.”
Javonte Williams’ sacrifices in the offseason weren’t easy, but early into training camp, they are already paying off.
