The long, arid NFL drought of the Spring and Summer of ’25 is over, as the Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, play host to America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys on NBC and Peacock to kick off the 2025/26 NFL season on Thursday night.

How to Watch

Watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and streaming on Peacock. 

As with every new season, every team will look somewhat different than last year’s version, and that’s especially true for the Dallas Cowboys, who, after a disappointing 7-10 record last season are looking to shake things up. That starts from the top down, with new head coach Brian Schottenheimer taking over for the outgoing Mike McCarthy, and it extends to the Running Backs Room, where three new running backs top the depth chart: free agents Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders, and rookie Jaydon Blue.

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With Williams expected to get a big bulk of the snaps at running back for the Cowboys this season, let’s get to the know the former Broncos’ standout.  

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Born April 25, 2000 in Wallace, North Carolina, Williams attended Wallace-Rose Hill High School in Teachey, North Carolina, where he rushed for 2,271 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns his senior year. Perhaps more impressive though, he earned a 4.6 GPA and graduated as his class valedictorian… which has also earned him the nickname of “Valedictorian-Tae,” per his new QB, longtime Dallas starter Dak Prescott. “That’s what he is,” Prescott told CBS Sports, “That’s not just a saying. He was a valedictorian. The guy’s smart at running back and can make plays and [I’m] super excited for him to play.”

After high school, Williams attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his only Football Bowl Subdivision offer. In three seasons for the Tar Heels, he rushed for over 2,300 yards and ran for 29 touchdowns, while earning Second-team All-American and Second-team All-ACC honors in 2020.

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After declaring himself eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft, Williams was selected 35th by the Denver Broncos as a second-round pick. He had himself one heck of a rookie season too, rushing for over 900 yards, catching passes for over 300 yards, and being named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Unfortunately, his sophomore season in Denver was cut short after tearing his ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner; and he never quite found the momentum of his rookie season again.

Now he’s in Dallas, hoping for a fresh start, and sporting #33 just like former Cowboy great Tony Dorsett. And if you ask his new head coach, there’s plenty to be excited about.

“I have no questions about it,” Schottenheimer told CBS Sports, with regards to Williams being able to handle the workload of a starting running back in the NFL, even though he didn’t play in any of the Cowboys’ preseason games (though he did run with the starters during training camp). “He’s played plenty of football. We practice very physically when we have pads on.”

How can you watch the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football this season?

After that, you can catch the Cowboys at least two more times on SNF: Sunday, September 28 at home against the Green Bay Packers, and Sunday, December 14 at home against the Minnesota Vikings.