NFL Trade Rumors: Broncos' Javonte Williams Eyed by Insiders Ahead of 2024 Deadline

Some NFL teams reportedly may check in on the availability of Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, some around the league are wondering if the Broncos "would be open" to trading away Williams now that rookie running back Audric Estimé is being worked into the offense more consistently.

Williams, 24, is in the midst of the final year of his rookie contract and can become a free agent during the offseason.

Originally selected by Denver in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft, Williams largely hasn't lived up to expectations.

As a rookie, he showed immense promise, rushing for 903 yards and three touchdowns, and catching 43 passes for 316 yards and three additional scores, but Williams has not matched or surpassed those numbers ever since.

A torn ACL limited Williams to four games in 2022, and he clearly wasn't the same player last season that he was as a rookie, rushing for 774 yards and averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

So far this season, Williams has started eight of the nine games he has appeared in, rushing for 387 yards and two touchdowns on 102 carries (3.8 yards per carry), and making 29 receptions for 216 yards.

Williams has been about as effective this season as Jaleel McLaughlin, who is averaging 3.9 yards per tote, but Estimé has shown significantly more juice than both of them.

The rookie fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame missed the first month of the season due to injury, but in five games since his return, he has rushed for 95 yards on 15 carries, which is good for 6.3 yards per touch.

Although Estimé's snaps have been limited, he played a season-high 10 percent of the offensive snaps in a 41-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens this past week, rushing for 35 yards on five carries.

By comparison, Williams had 42 yards on 12 carries, marking his sixth game this season with fewer than 45 rushing yards.

The Broncos have been a pleasant surprise this season, posting a 5-4 record, which would have them as the seventh and final playoff team in the AFC if the regular season ended today.

Because of that, the Broncos may be more willing to add than subtract, although it could be argued that trading away Williams could possibly add more dynamism to the Denver offense since it would open up more opportunities for Estimé.

If the Broncos do decide to part ways with Williams, the Dallas Cowboys stand out as a potential landing spot since they rank 31st in the NFL this season with 82.0 rushing yards per game and could use an upgrade over the backfield of Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook.