Javonte Williams Crushes Melvin Gordon’s Value, But Will He Reach the RB1 Heights With Denver’s QB Play?

Shawn Siegele
April 30, 2021

Javonte Williams was selected by the Denver Broncos with the No. 35 pick in the NFL draft. He will quickly wrestle starting duties from Melvin Gordon, but will he be able to thrive in an offense led by Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater?

Williams had plenty of supporters as the top running back in this draft, and the Broncos couldn’t resist early in the second round. They sport a potentially electric offense with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, Noah Fant, Albert Okwuegbunam, and now Williams. Unfortunately, their QB options struggled in almost every category.

Bridgewater and Lock threw barely more touchdowns than interceptions, averaged paltry numbers in yards per attempt, struggled to get the ball deep, and couldn’t connect on those passes when they did.

The lack of quality QB play corrupted the entire Denver offense and led to the departure of Phillip Lindsay. The former UDFA-turned-fleeting-star was frequently scapegoated over the last two years, but the problem could easily be explained by Lock’s presence.

Javonte Williams won’t be a 1-for-1 replacement. If things go to plan in Denver, he’ll quickly replace both Lindsay and Gordon. For that to happen, he’ll need to be the back that enthusiasts paint as the top RB prospect in the NFL draft.

Javonte Williams Is a Star-in-the-Making: Can He Thrive in Denver?

Williams jumped Travis Etienne in my lasted rookie draft projection. In my Williams breakdown, I’ll look at his new comps in the Box Score Scout, explore his results from the All the Metrics series, and discuss where to select the North Carolina product in rookie drafts and dynasty startups.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

What’s included in your subscription??

Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
- A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
Revolutionary Tools
- Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
Groundbreaking Articles
- RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
Weekly Projections
- Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
Expert Rankings
And a whole lot more…

Shawn Siegele

Author of the original Zero RB article and 2013 NFFC Primetime Grand Champion. 11-time main event league winner. 2015, 2017, 2018 titles in MFL10 of Death.

Once You’ve Exhausted All Trade-Out Possibilities, This Is How You Crush Your Rookie Draft

Shawn Siegele April 29, 2026

Shawn Siegele breaks down the movement post-NFL draft and provides his 2026 dynasty superflex rookie rankings. The pre-draft version of the rankings included detailed player blurbs on my top-40 prospects. In today’s exercise, I extend the rankings to a full four-round dynasty SF draft. Beyond those names, I discuss an additional 12 players, including a few priority UDFAs, who might be interesting to deep-league managers…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

2026 NFL Cheat Sheet: Advanced Stat Profiles and Tiered Rankings of the Top 40 Prospects

Shawn Siegele April 22, 2026

Shawn Siegele dives into the prospect profiles for the 2026 NFL draft and ranks his top-40 fantasy prospects for dynasty superflex leagues. I’m very biased, of course, but I’m also proud of our dynasty content in recent seasons. If you’ve purchased the rookie guides and followed the Perpetual Reloading series, you’ve won a lot of titles in the FFPC RV TriFlex leagues and similar formats…....

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: Ranking the Remaining Super Bowl Contenders in 6 Key Categories

Shawn Siegele January 16, 2026

Shawn Siegele breaks down all the remaining playoff teams for those participating in playoff contests or wanting to get a deeper feel for the reality tournament. This week’s exercise will be a bit different than last week’s contrarian takes. For the eight remaining teams, I’ve used the RotoViz tools, the deep trove of SIS data, and Blair’s matchup tool with a mix of regular and…...