2021 Prospect Profile: RB Javonte Williams North Carolina
RB Javonte Williams, North Carolina 5-10 220lbs
Strengths
- Vision
- Contact Balance
- Explosiveness
- Sets up his blocking well, shows patience in the hole
Weaknesses
- Top-end speed
- Needs some work as a pass blocker
- Has never been ‘the guy’. His high mark in carries was 166 in 2019.
NFL Player Comparison | Nick Chubb
2020 Dynasty Rookie Draft Projection | Mid to late 1st
Bottom Line
The biggest thing that popped out to me when watching his tape was his contact balance. He took some hits that should have stopped him in his tracks, however, he just kept on trucking. His 7.3 yards per carry in 2020 is impressive, and the eye test tells me a lot of it came after contact. At 5-10 220, he is built to be an every-down NFL running back as long as he can fix his pass protection skills. He isn’t terrible in Pass Pro like we have seen in some prospects headed to the NFL, but there were times I thought he looked confused on who he was supposed to block.
His contact balance is on full display on this run versus Miami
My player comp of Nick Chubb might a little unfair. Chubb is the best pure runner in the NFL and consistently leads the league in broken tackles and elusiveness. Williams has the broken tackles part down, but his elusiveness isn’t on Chubb’s level. That’s not to say Williams is not elusive, but he would prefer to run through you, not around you. Top-end speed is hard to judge when watching film, but he was caught from behind a number of times in the games I watched, but he is not slow by any means, he just isn’t Travis Etienne fast — not many are (he has an unofficial 40 time of 4.5 as reported by NCSAsports.org).
Williams is my RB3 in my early ranks, behind Najee Harris and the aforementioned Etienne. Early dynasty rookie mocks have him as a mid-to-late first-round pick, in the 1.07 1.08 range. There is a definite tier gap between those top two running backs and Williams, but with the right landing spot and he could leapfrog some of the wide receivers I currently have drafted in front of him in mock drafts.
I’d like to see him go to a team that doesn’t expect much in the receiving game from their running backs. A team like Houston, for example. Possibly Arizona if they don’t resign Kenyan Drake would also be a good fit. That’s not to say he doesn’t have good hands, but it’s not what he does best. He is a 20-plus carry, get better as the game goes on, type of running back.
