How new Bronco Javonte Williams went from a linebacker with no college offers to "definitely" the best running back in the draft

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Five years ago, Javonte Williams was leading Wallace-Rose Hill high school to another North Carolina state championship as a stud linebacker.

On Friday night, he became one of the top drafted running backs in the NFL.

Javonte Williams’ life and career flipped on it’s head and didn’t skip a beat back in 2017.

As a freshman and sophomore in high school, Williams wanted to play running back. But the ultra-talented Wallace-Rose Hill football team had two Division 1 running backs on the roster already.

“My coach told me if I wanted to play, I would have to play on defense, so I started playing linebacker and I was pretty good at it,” Williams said, telling his wild story to Denver media minutes after being drafted on Friday night. “My junior year, when they graduated, they kept me at linebacker. He said he would rather have me at linebacker than at running back. So I stayed there.”

Even though the 5-foot-10 linebacker was a stud on his team’s defense, colleges weren’t offering him a scholarship because he was too short to play at the next level.

Before his senior year, however, he got a new coach who changed his life. He just didn’t quite know it.

“When he came in, he was like, ‘Why do you have no offers,'” Williams said, explaining his interaction with his new coach. “I was like, ‘Most schools pass on me saying I was too short.’ So he switched me to running back and I started playing running back.”

Williams transition from defense to offense was seamless. It was as smooth as Jerry Jeudy coming out of a break. During his first year as a high school running back, Williams ran for 2,271 yards and 27 touchdowns. In his first year playing the position.

“Schools were still passing on me saying, ‘It’s was too late in the process, we’ve already given out all of our offers. You would have to come on as a walk-on,'” Williams said. “Last game of my senior year in the state championship game, we played at UNC and [former Tar Heels Head] Coach [Larry] Fedora offered me right after the game.”

Without any other offers, Williams decision was easy.

Fast forward three years and the results were the same, this time dominating the ACC. In 2020, splitting carries with Michael Carter, Williams rushed for 1,140 yards on an incredible 7.3 yards-per carry. He added 305 receiving yards and had a total of 22 touchdowns in just 11 games.

“I feel like I’m a three-down back,” Williams stated after the Broncos traded up five spots to No. 35 to draft him. “I feel like I’m very versatile. I feel like I can do everything at the running back position. I’m just ready to come in and compete.”

Although the 5-foot-10, 220-pound back won’t have to worry about which position he’ll be playing with the Broncos, he’s going to bring his linebacker mentality with him to Denver.

“If I see somebody in front of me I feel like I just got to go through them. Make them miss in some kind of way,” Williams said about his physical mentality as a runner. “Me wanting to compete all the time, that’s really where it comes from. And also the linebacker too. I feel like that’s part of it too. I feel like it’s mainly me wanting to compete and just win my one-on-one battles.”

Williams has been compared to fellow second-round pick Nick Chubb. Not only did both have incredible production in college, but Chubb has a similar frame at 5-foot-11, 227 pounds.

“Nick Chubb is a great player so I mean, if I’m getting that comparison, I’m doing something right,” Williams said, adding he gets that comparison “a lot.”

In Chubb’s first three seasons in the NFL, he’s rushed for 3,557 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was only four yards away his rookie season from having 1,000-yard seasons every year he’s been in the league. That’s not too shabby of a comp for the rookie out of North Carolina.

But much like it took colleges too long to offer him a scholarship, he believes it took NFL teams too long to draft him.

“I definitely feel like I was the best running back in the draft,” he stated firmly. “Just having to sit there throughout the whole draft yesterday was just hard for me, but I’ve always been overlooked my whole career, so that’s just something else for me to even go harder for.”

In Denver, Williams will be paired with Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon in 2021. But sharing carries hasn’t slowed Williams down one bit in the past.

Five years ago, Williams’ football career was one year away from ending as a high school linebacker. On Friday night, he became the 35th player selected in the NFL Draft. As a running back.