How Should Javonte Williams Owners Move Forward?

Fantasy Owners around the world took a big hit this past Sunday when Denver Broncos’ running back Javonte Williams tore his ACL, ending his season. The MRI also revealed a a torn LCL and posterior lateral corner, sources say.

Williams was a trendy fantasy breakout pick this year, but struggled through the first four games of the season, failed to score a touchdown on 63 total touches. He is currently the RB30 in PPR format. Despite his inefficiency, Williams looked like a potential emerging star, seeing a massive uptick in receiving. However, his promising sophomore campaign has now been cut short.

Your question today: how should Javonte Williams owners move forward? Your obvious answer: Melvin Gordon III. Broncos offensive coordinator Justin Outten told reporters that the veteran running back would “carry the load obviously.”

“We’ll have a mix of [Mike Boone] and after that we’ve got to figure out who can spell and who feels best in that position. But we trust Melvin going forward here,” Outten said.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, being that Melvin Gordon split time with Javonte Williams over the past two seasons.

The former Wisconsin Badger standout rushed just three times for eight yards in the Broncos’ Week 4 loss to the Raiders. He failed to catch his lone target in the pass game, and again fumbled for the fourth time this year, as the Raiders returned it 68 yards for a touchdown. Gordon missed snaps with some sort of ailment in the second half but was able to return to the game. He played just 19% of Denver’s snaps. Mike Boone compiled four touches, playing 36% of the teams snaps.

For Javonte Williams owners that failed to handcuff Melvin Gordon – here are alternative options to keep an eye on. (NOTE: All players are under 50% owned on ESPN leagues.)

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons: Allgeier rushed 10 times for 84 yards and caught his lone target for 20 yards in the Falcons’ Week 4 win over the Browns. With Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) playing at less than 100%, the Falcons deployed a three-way committee in their run-heavy gameplan. Allgeier and Caleb Huntley each saw 10 carries apiece, with Allgeier leading the team in rushing, and Huntley scoring a touchdown. With Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) being placed on the IR, it opens the door for both Falcon RB’s to see an uptick in volume . Allgeier has seen carry counts of 10, 6, and 10 in his three games active, after being a healthy scratch in Week 1. The rookie is an RB3.

J.D. McKissic, Washington Commanders: McKissic ran for 40 yards on eight carries and caught three passes for 16 yards on four targets in a loss to Dallas on Sunday. McKissic’s statline was inflated by a 33-yard carry — his first carry of greater than 17 yards in his Commanders career — as he compiled just seven yards on his other seven carries. Despite the underwhelming results between the tackles, McKissic doesn’t appear likely to lose his complementary/pass-catching role in the offense anytime soon, despite Commanders rookie Brian Robinson set to return. McKissic out-snapped Antonio Gibson in the Commanders Week 4 loss, albeit because of game script. In spite of hefty competition for touches, McKissic has a relatively safe floor in PPR formats. He is currently ranked fourth amongst RB’s in targets just behind Austin Ekeler, Joe Mixon and Breece Hall.