In the same way Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had no problem opting not to give Micah Parsons a new contract, he’s also had little problem dishing out several new deals since shipping Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, inking cornerback DaRon Bland (four years, $90 million), fullback Hunter Luepke (two years, $7 million), and left guard Tyler Smith (four years, $96 million) to extensions over the last month.
Now, if fans of America’s Team had to choose another player for Jones to extend right now, we’re thinking it’s safe to assume that many would choose George Pickens, who stepped up in CeeDee Lamb’s absence in Sunday night’s tie with Green Bay and caught eight passes on 11 targets for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
That discussion does need to happen, as Pickens has proven to be a valuable asset. But perhaps just as valuable at this point is Javonte Williams, who’s been one of the biggest surprises for the Cowboys thus far.
Javonte Williams has been a great addition to the Cowboys’ offensive attack
After the loss of Rico Dowdle, who was a surprise in his own right a season ago with 1,079 yards and one who many thought should’ve been retained, Jones added a plethora of new players to the Cowboys’ running back room, signing Williams and veteran Miles Sanders in free agency and adding Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah in April’s draft.
It was difficult to know what to make of the situation as a whole, but Williams clearly distinguished himself during training camp and the preseason and has obviously emerged as the clear RB1 in Dallas.
With Week 4 now entirely in the books, the 25-year-old ranks sixth among all running backs with 312 rushing yards, while averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and is tied for second with four rushing touchdowns.
And in adding another 74 yards on 16 receptions, Williams’ 386 total yards from scrimmage, 100 of which came against the Packers on Sunday night, are good for ninth among all players, outranking the likes of fellow backs Josh Jacobs, Omarion Hampton, Kyren Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, and even Saquon Barkley.
Furthermore, he’s proven to be a solid pass blocker. After a rough opening week against the Eagles, he’s earned PFF pass-blocking marks of 86.1, 81.0, and 80.1 over the last three weeks. So, that’s certainly an added bonus.
Okay, so the sample size is obviously small. But it’s not as if we haven’t seen this from Williams before, as two of his four seasons with the Broncos resulted in him gaining more than 1,000 total yards from scrimmage, as he went for 1,219 as a rookie in 2021 and 1,002 in 2023.
Blue may end up being the guy a couple years down the road, but Jones would be wise to lock up Williams now before he runs the risk of losing him to free agency. It’ll obviously cost the Cowboys more than the $3 million they’re paying him this season, but a two- or three-year deal at maybe $7 million per season might be enough to get the job done.
Williams is clearly comfortable in the Cowboys’ offense and while Jones still needs to do quite a bit to get back in the good graces of the Dallas faithful following the Parsons debacle, this could be another step in the right direction.
