"He's a gift player": George Paton believes Javonte Williams is a "special" player in more ways than one

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The first round of the NFL Draft was a “dream come true” for George Paton and the Denver Broncos after they landed Patrick Surtain II. But it was also incredibly stressful.

Not only did the Broncos have to wait eight picks to see if the No. 1 defensive player on their board fell to them, but hours before the draft started, they were in the mix for potentially acquiring Aaron Rodgers.

What a day. What a stressful day.

While Paton wouldn’t change the outcome, on Friday, he changed the process.

Instead of sweating out whether star running back Javonte Williams would fall to them with the No. 8 pick in the second round on Friday night, Paton took matters into his own hands. There would be no waiting.

Immediately after the conclusion of the first round on Thursday night, Paton hit the phones to trade up in the second round. After three picks were made in the second round on Friday night, the Broncos were on the move from No. 40 to No. 35. Paton and the Broncos didn’t have to sweat this pick out.

“We just think he’s a special back,” Paton said about why the team traded up for the 5-foot-10, 220-pound running back out of North Carolina. “A three-down back. Really good on first and second down. He can pass protect. He can catch the ball out of the backfield.”

In 2020, splitting time with Michael Carter at UNC, Williams rushed for 1,140 yards on a whopping 7.3 yards-per carry, while adding 305 yards in the air. In just 11 games, Williams had 22 touchdowns.

“Just an incredible teammate. Incredible off the field,” Paton stated about his new running back. “He’s a gift player — we call guys gift players that are exceptional off the field as well as on. He fit our criteria. He’s going to help us. You know, him and Melvin and Boone. I feel like you need two or three backs in this league to have success and he’s going to bring that to the table.”

Williams certainly is gifted both on and off the field. In high school, not only did the converted linebacker rush for over 2,200 yards and 27 touchdowns his only year playing running back, he also graduated as his high school’s valedictorian with a 4.6 GPA.

Thanks to his three years as a “pretty good” linebacker in high school, Paton said, “You can see the linebacker in his play” at running back.

“If you’ve watched any clips of him, he’s probably the most physical runner in the last couple of years,” Paton said, raising eyebrows in Broncos Country. “The thing that makes him unique is the contact balance. He’s hard to tackle, whether it’s in space or in line or in traffic. He has a unique ability to break tackles. And he’s elusive in space. I think you do see the linebacker in him when he runs because he’s so physical. And he breaks so many tackles.”

In fact, Williams forced the most missed tackles in college football last year. Thanks in part to that, Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 1 running back in the nation in 2020.

But Williams has one more thing going for him. Last year, despite grading out as the best running back in the nation, one of the most physical runners of the past few years and a special back, Williams shared the workload nearly 50-50 with Carter. On Friday night, Paton said that was “great.”

“There is not a lot of wear and tear on the tires compared to some other backs,” the Broncos’ general manager elaborated.

Sharing the backfield will continue in 2021 for Williams with the Broncos.

“Hopefully this year, with our three backs, with [Mike] Boone being one of them — who we really like that we signed in free agency — we’ll get a nice flow and get a good understanding and a good philosophy and a system, which can change from week to week, to utilize all three of them,” Vic Fangio said about what the running back rotation could look like with Williams and Pro Bowler Melvin Gordon.

Paton added all three backs are different and will compliment each other well.

“They all bring something different to the table,” Paton said. “So I think it’s a really good mix. I like having multiple backs. And I think we’ve accomplished that.”

Javonte Williams will share the backfield again in 2021. But if the gifted, special and physical runner turns into one of the NFL’s best backs, as Paton hopes, it will be difficult to take him off the field in 2022 and beyond.