The Dallas Cowboys’ offense sputtered in the 2024-25 season, with a weak running game standing out as a major liability. Determined to fix this problem, the front office wasted no time reshaping the backfield and brought in Javonte Williams.
The veteran back has made an immediate impact, finding the end zone nine times through the first eight games. As he gears up for Week 9, here’s a closer look at when Williams joined Dallas and his free agency, contract, and salary details.
Javonte Williams Free Agency
Williams was the fifth overall pick of the Denver Broncos in the 2021 NFL Draft and spent four productive seasons with the franchise. He appeared in 54 games and gained 2,394 rushing yards on 606 carries for a 4.0-yard average and 11 rushing touchdowns. Williams also emerged as one of the league’s top pass-catching backs.
Over his four seasons, the 25-year-old pulled in 158 receptions on 203 targets and scored five touchdowns through the air. He sports a 6.1 yards-per-attempt average and caught 77.8% of his targets. His contributions helped Denver achieve the 16th-best offense, according to PFSN’s Offense+ metric.
However, Williams looked washed up last year, rushing for just 513 yards on 3.7 yards per carry in an ugly committee. The Broncos decided not to extend him, but the Cowboys run a pass-heavy offense, and for them, the priority was pass protection, which is one of his greatest strengths.
Javonte Williams Contract and Salary
Williams signed a one-year deal worth $3 million in March, giving the Cowboys a low-cost, short-term solution in the backfield while allowing him to rebuild his market value. The contract also includes several performance-based incentives:
- Per Game Active Bonus: $29,411 ($500,000
- Scrimmage Yard Incentive
1,250: $250,000 - Total Touchdown Incentive
12: $250,000
Through his first eight games, Williams has looked like a bargain, positioning himself not only to cash in on those incentives but also to earn a more lucrative deal next offseason.
Based on PFSN’s RB Impact, Williams is currently ranked 11th among running backs. He’s proven he can pick up yards with both agility and power, and that’s made him the Cowboys’ bona fide starting running back.
Cowboys Players’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 9
Here is what PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote about the notable Cowboys players’ fantasy outlooks for the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals:
Dak Prescott
Unless you believe the Cardinals will emerge from their bye with a newfound focus on the defensive side of the ball, I think you can look past last week’s dud for Dak Prescott in Denver.
In much the same way that the Cowboys are a performance-enhancing defense for their opponents, Denver suppresses numbers across the board, and Dallas’ start was no exception (19-of-31 for 188 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions).
Prescott entered the game on a near-historic hot streak (four straight games with 3+ TD passes and zero interceptions). While I think that’s probably overshooting expectations, it’s far more likely this is a Jacoby Brissett/Prescott shootout than a one-sided beatdown like what we saw a week ago.
He’s had two awful games this season, both on the road against defenses that can look like the best in the sport (Eagles and Broncos). A home game against the Cardinals (seventh-highest deep CMP% allowed since Week 4) is a little different, and with his playmakers fully healthy, I think you should feel good about Prescott returning to the top 10 at the position.
CeeDee Lamb
Since returning from nearly a month off (ankle), CeeDee Lamb’s target rate is essentially identical to the two games pre-injury this season. Still, the type of target has shifted significantly following the film George Pickens put forth during that missed time.
- Weeks 1-2: 41.7% deep target rate
- Weeks 7-8: 16.7% deep target rate
I think this is optimal. Not that Lamb can’t win down the field, but if the goal is to build the strongest offensive environment, allowing Pickens to play to his primary strength with Lamb filling in around him is a wise move.
In theory, this should elevate Lamb’s target rate over time as efficiency improves. Last week had a few chances to be an even bigger performance (two end zone DPIs forced on the same drive after a 29-yard catch earlier in the game put Dallas on the doorstep).
Due to how the Cowboys play, Lamb, even with the presence of Pickens, is on the short list of receivers that could lead the position in PPR points from this point forward.
George Pickens
The Cowboys weren’t competitive at all in Denver over the weekend. Still, Dak Prescott did continue to concentrate his targets at a near-Flacco fashion (14 of his 19 completions went to either Pickens or Lamb), and that means that both were usable with over 14 PPR points, even in a blowout loss.
I found it interesting that Patrick Surtain spent some time on Pickens, a sign to me that opponents view Dallas’ WR2 as a game-breaker they want to discourage Prescott from looking downfield.
That’s obviously easier said than done, but if they viewed Lamb as substantially more dangerous, the reigning DPOY would have been glued to him. Pickens hasn’t seen his target profile look much different since his partner in crime returned to the lineup, aside from a minor decline in red-zone usage.
Better days are ahead for this offense, and this is a great launching spot for just that. The point distribution will vary every week, but 35-ish fantasy points for the Lamb/Pickens tandem every week is fair, and that’s all we can ask for.
Javonte Williams
Javonte Williams wasn’t left for dead by the fantasy community, but if we were universally sold on him, you’d have no idea who Jaydon Blue is.
He’s been great.
I’d argue better than great.
Williams has a touchdown or 5+ receptions in every single game this season, and while the per-carry efficiency comes and goes, his role as the unquestioned lead back in a high-powered offense is stable.
I think Dallas can look at their October results and switch up their priorities a bit. I don’t care about volume; we know the game script plays with those numbers, but in terms of efficiency, here are the splits for their four games this month.
- Two wins: 35 carries for 251 yards (7.2 YPC)
- Two losses: 26 carries for 70 yards (2.7 YPC)
There’s obviously some chicken-and-egg to those numbers, but if this team can create a balanced offensive environment, they can compete with anyone.
If not, they get run out of the building by 20 like last weekend. That’s more of a macro take. In terms of Williams, you can feel great about locking him in this week, a statement I would never have guessed I’d be typing as we prepare for November.