The Cowboys agreed to terms with their first external free agent of the 2025 offseason on Monday, as former Broncos running back Javonte Williams is set to come to Dallas on a one-year deal when the new league year begins.
At the NFL combine in Indianapolis, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer discussed what he was looking for in a running back in his scheme, something that appears to be an emphasis in 2025 for the Cowboys’ offense.
“You want a guy that’s got vision, you want a guy that has contact balance,” Schottenheimer said. “The fronts that we’re seeing, the fronts that we’re facing require guys to be able to make hidden yards.”
“Whether there’s a free safety in the hole or there’s a linebacker, a defensive lineman coming off at the point of attack, you got to have a guy that’s willing to run through arm tackles.”
Based on the first four years of his career, Williams fits that mold. He’s rushed for 1,777 yards after contact and forced 134 missed tackles to this point, and now will look to add to that with the Cowboys.
Williams, 24, was a second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of North Carolina and spent all four of his career NFL seasons with the Broncos. He ran for 2,394 yards and 11 touchdowns in 54 games, good for 4 yards per carry.
In the receiving game, Williams put up career highs in 2024 with 52 receptions and 346 yards, bringing his all-purpose yardage total to 859 yards in 2024 with four total touchdowns. It was the third season in his career where Williams accounted for more than 850 offensive yards. That element of his game is another trait that Schottenheimer mentioned he wanted in his ball carriers.
“I do believe that you have to have the ability to catch the ball coming out of the backfield,” Schottenheimer said. “Why do I say that? If a team wants to commit to stopping the run, there’s ways that they can try to do that…”
“That doesn’t mean they have to play like a receiver, but they have to be able to run routes coming out of the backfield and have the ability to separate and run after the catch is important.”
In agreeing to terms with Williams, the Cowboys add youth and depth to a running back room that only had Deuce Vaughn signed on the roster from at the start of the offseason. Now, Dallas faces two more questions: How high do they want to draft a running back, and does this mean Rico Dowdle is out of the equation?