FRISCO, Texas — Given the journey already taken and the adversity experienced by Javonte Williams since entering the league as the second-round pick of the Denver Broncos, one would think he's closer to the age of 30 than he is having just turned 25 years old in April, only 45 days after agreeing to become the Dallas Cowboys' first free agency signing of 2025.
Doing so meant the organization was opting to move on from running back Rico Dowdle, whom they will unironically square off against when they visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, and drawing a very large circle around their belief in what Williams can be — when healthy.
He's been exactly that, healthy, now three years removed from suffering a devastating torn ACL and LCL in October 2022, currently ranked top-5 in yards per carry (5.7), top-3 in total rushing yards (447) and top-2 in rushing touchdowns (5), and has a chance to surpass, in only six games, the entire tally of rushing touchdowns mustered by Dowdle and the Cowboys' rushing attack last season.
Williams is back in top form, and that's also aided by the coaching and schematics of head coach Brian Schottenheimer along with offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, running backs coach Derrick Foster and offensive line coach Conor Riley, to name a few.
It wasn't always a mentally sunny outlook for him, however, as he readily confessed in a recent Q&A that saw him open up about his decision to sign with the Cowboys, the impact of his new coaches and teammates and how, at one point, he thought his NFL career was over.
It's a week of reflection for the former Tar Heel traveling home to take the field again in front of family and friends, the owner of horses returning with the Cowboys and, more than ever, with the hint of being an actual cowboy.
On the success of the rushing attack, despite injuries to the O-line:
"I just feel like it's a testament to the hard work that we put in throughout the week, and the coaches, how good of a job they do of just getting everybody ready. And even though we've got some players out, everybody's still professional. So even if they are backups, I feel like they should just get in and do what the starter's been doing."
On if he's turning down any requests from family for tickets against the Panthers:
"Oh, nah, but I'll leave that up to my mama. Yeah, I'll leave that up to my mom."
On overcoming self-doubt to have a resurgence in Dallas:
"It was a time I thought it was gonna be over with, but I just kept going. The coach has a lot of trust in me. I like my teammates. I feel like everybody plays together, and we complement each other well; and there's a competition in the running back room. That's what really made me go so hard."
On his acclimation to both the organization and the Metroplex:
"I rehabbed here during my surgery, so I was here for like two or three months. I like it. I like horses too, and they've got a lot of horses out here. … I had two, but I sold them because I don't have time to take care of them now, but I'll probably get some more."
On playing alongside such a loaded roster on offense:
"I like it a lot. We've got playmakers at every position. It's probably one of the first times I had this many superstars on the same team, but we've just gotta keep it going."
On meshing so quickly with Klayton Adams:
"It's just the schemes — how he draws it up. I mean, everything that they say in practice, it seems like it comes true in the game, so I just listen to them throughout the week, and then just go out and execute on Sundays."
On the Cowboys passing on Rico Dowdle and seeking him instead out in free agency:
"I probably wanted to come just as much as they wanted me [here]. It all worked out and I'm glad it did. I'm glad I came, and I'm glad I've got the teammates I got."
