The Denver Broncos moved up to make North Carolina’s Javonte Williams an early choice in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, after working a trade with the Atlanta Falcons to climb five spots on the board and use the 35th overall pick to acquire the bruising running back.
North Carolina’s program had three players drafted Friday night, with linebacker Chazz Surratt (to the Minnesota Vikings) and receiver Dyami Brown (to the Washington Football Team) taken in the third round. Running back Michael Carter and receiver Dazz Newsome are likely to be chosen Saturday, as Rounds 4-7 unfold.
Williams, the 5-foot-10, 212-pound power back out of Wallace-Rose Hill High School, led the way Friday night as the first Tar Heels product selected. His draft position marked the highest for a North Carolina running back in 36 years, since Ethan Horton went 15th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985.
Denver traded out of the 40th pick in the swap with Atlanta, which had been the third team in the drafting order at the top of the second round. After the Jacksonville Jaguars opened the second round by taking Georgia defensive back Tyson Campbell and the New York Jets followed by selecting Mississippi receiver Elijah Moore, the Broncos made Williams their choice.
“Who would have thought that a kid from Wallace, N.C., would be drafted into the NFL?” Williams said Friday night. “It’s been a dream of mine, and now that it’s a reality, I’m just soaking it all in.”
Alabama’s Najee Harris and Clemson’s Travis Etienne generally had been slotted above Williams in draft projections by position, though some analysts envisioned Williams perhaps vaulting ahead and landing late in the first round Thursday night, with a team presumed to be in the market for a running back such as the Pittsburgh Steelers (24th pick) or Buffalo Bills (30th pick).
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That’s not how the finishing stages of the first round proceeded. The Steelers made Harris the first running back taken in the draft with the No. 24 selection, then Etienne, the two-time Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, went off the board immediately afterward to Jacksonville at No. 25.
Rather than drafting Williams at No. 30, where he would’ve joined a Buffalo team coming off a trip to the AFC championship game, the Bills instead chose Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who opted against playing last season due to COVID-19 concerns.
So it was on to the second round for Williams, who didn’t wait long Friday night to hear his name called.
“I loved my time in Chapel Hill,” Williams said, “but I’m ready to join the Broncos and get to work.”
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The 21-year-old Williams, whose birthday was earlier this week, supplied the thunder to the speedy Carter’s lightning in North Carolina’s double-barreled backfield. Williams had just two starts during his three seasons in Chapel Hill. Now, he could be on the doorstep of a featured back role in the NFL.
“I’m so happy for Javonte,” Tar Heels coach Mack Brown said Friday night. “When we got here, he really hadn’t played all that much, but he just kept getting better and better. He was one of the best running backs in the country the last two seasons, and it’s clear that his skill set will transfer to the NFL. The Broncos got themselves a good one and I’m looking forward to following his career.”
At North Carolina’s pro day activities in late March, when the Tar Heels bound for the draft performed in front of NFL scouts, coaches and front office personnel, Williams said he had worked since January on improving his time in the 40-yard dash (clocked at 4.55 seconds that day).
Williams delivered 22 touchdowns last season and surpassed the North Carolina single-season school record Don McCauley had held since 1970, before joining teammates Brown, Surratt and Carter in declaring for the NFL Draft and opting not to participate in the Orange Bowl, an eventual loss for the Tar Heels to Texas A&M.
Williams churned out 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns in December in North Carolina’s mauling of Miami to conclude the regular season, a burly closing statement to punctuate his junior year and another performance packed with striking moments fueled by his battering-ram exploits.
He ran for 1,140 yards on 157 attempts last season, a healthy average of 7.3 yards per carry, and piled up 19 touchdowns on the ground. He finished his three-year college career with 2,297 rushing yards, the 14th-highest total in North Carolina program history, in 35 games.
And beyond the usual fare of standard box scores, the analytics that measure advanced statistics put the punishing Williams at the head of an elite group, rating him as the most difficult running back to tackle in college football last season.
He gained 720 yards after contact and forced more missed tackles (75) than any player in the nation, despite carrying 95 fewer times than Alabama’s Harris, who checked in second in that category with 71 missed tackles to his credit.
Williams produced six 100-yard rushing games last season, and at least two touchdowns in seven games.
He mostly went overlooked in recruiting, occupying an undistinguished place among the high school Class of 2018, a group in which evaluators rated him as the No. 1,476 overall prospect nationally and 94th-best running back.
Williams had received an offer from East Carolina and interest from other schools such as Elon before Larry Fedora, then the North Carolina coach, watched him rip off 207 rushing yards and two touchdowns in December 2017 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
That effort powered Wallace-Rose Hill to its fourth straight high school state title, and ultimately landed Williams with the Tar Heels of the ACC.
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Times-News: NFL Draft: UNC running back Javonte Williams selected in second round by Denver Broncos
