Javonte Williams

Week 16 vs. New England Patriots
Javonte Williams had his worst fantasy day of the season in Week 15 when he only played 52% of the Broncos' offensive snaps and managed just 20 total yards on 12 carries and two targets. Williams had operated as the clear lead back in Denver for three weeks heading into the matchup with Detroit, but it is hard to tell if that will stick in all game scripts with Sean Payton taking more of a committee approach last week. A noticeable trend the last two games is an increase in passing game work for backup Samaje Perine and a drop in route participation for Williams. This development lowers Williams' ceiling but he should maintain a solid floor this week against a Patriots team that struggles to keep up with everyone on the scoreboard. Williams is playable as a flex or low-end RB2 for the fantasy playoffs.

Week 14 at Los Angeles Chargers
Javonte Williams again led the Denver backfield in Week 13 with 16 opportunities (13 carries plus three targets), but only managed 70 scoreless yards from scrimmage on that workload. Williams is seeing robust usage as Denver's clear lead back, but the Broncos' offense is not producing much in terms of scoring opportunities for him as he only has two touchdowns on the season and none since Week 10. Williams is regularly seeing 15+ touches per game since returning from injury and that locks him into RB2 consideration, but his ceiling is capping by the involvement of Samaje Perine in the passing game and the Broncos' intermittent offensive struggles. The Chargers are not an imposing matchup for any offense, meaning Williams is a solid starting option this week.

Week 12 vs. Cleveland Browns
Last week, Javonte Williams did not see the same huge volume he had been getting heading into Week 11. Williams still dominated rushing work with 11 carries compared to one each for Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin, but he lost a bunch of receiving work to his two backups and only finished with two targets and 53 total yards on the day. Part of that was game script, but Perine in particular remains a serious threat to Williams' passing game work and overall workhorse role. Williams will likely see more work with the Broncos being 2.5 point home favorites this week against the Browns, but Cleveland boasts an elite defense that should cause issues for Denver moving the ball. Williams is best thought of as a volatile flex play this week.