{"id":944435,"date":"2026-07-13T12:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/944435\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T12:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:54:19","slug":"cowboys-critics-ignore-javonte-williams-in-top-10-running-back-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/944435\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Critics Ignore Javonte Williams In Top 10 Running Back Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FRISCO – There\u2019s no other way to put it: Javonte Williams\u2019 2025 season for the Dallas Cowboys was as superb as it was surprising.<\/p>\n

Coming to Dallas on a one-year prove-it deal, Williams was a relatively unknown commodity, still finding his feet after an injury and being pushed out in Denver.<\/p>\n

But it became evident early in the offseason that Javonte was Dallas\u2019 starter behind QB Dak Prescott … and that decision ended up being justified all year long.<\/p>\n

Williams rushed for career-highs in 1,201 yards and touchdowns (11) and emerged as a big reason for the offensive efficiency that allowed the unit to be one of the best in football.<\/p>\n

Javonte\u2019s brutal running style, coupled with his receiving ability and his pass-pro work, made him a great addition to the Cowboys\u2019 offense and added a critical wrinkle it hadn\u2019t had in recent previous seasons.<\/p>\n

Such was Williams\u2019 season that he was given a three-year, $24 million contract this offseason. \u2026 which is a building block going forward.<\/p>\n

“I at least want to go to the Pro Bowl and definitely want to go to a Super Bowl with this team,\u2019\u2019 Williams said recently. “Just working hard, grinding, and trying to be a better version of myself. That’s all I’m worried about.”<\/p>\n

Good. No \u201cworries.\u2019\u2019 Because when you add it all up, surely he is on the radar of everyone as we enter 2026, right?<\/p>\n

Well, not exactly.<\/p>\n

In an ESPN<\/a> piece, scouts, coaches, and executives rank the top 10 running backs in football right now.<\/p>\n

And Williams didn\u2019t make the list.<\/p>\n

He landed in the \u201creceived votes\u201d category, which is lower than the honorable mentions section.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s go through it, shall we?<\/p>\n

The top 10 is as follows:<\/p>\n

Bijan Robinson (No. 1)<\/p>\n

Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 2)<\/p>\n

Saquon Barkley (No. 3)<\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey (No. 4)<\/p>\n

Jonathan Taylor (No. 5)<\/p>\n

Derrick Henry (No. 6)<\/p>\n

James Cook (No. 7)<\/p>\n

De\u2019Von Achane (No. 8)<\/p>\n

Kenneth Walker (No. 9)<\/p>\n

Breece Hall (No. 10).<\/p>\n

The problem with taking issue with any of these sorts of lists is that somebody needs to be removed. To us, Bijan and Gibbs clearly belong that high on the list.<\/p>\n

But looking at the stats from 2025, Williams might have a case to break into the top 10.<\/p>\n

He ranked ninth in yards, sixth in touchdowns, seventh in yards per game, 11th in yards per carry and 10th in attempts.<\/p>\n

Oh, and Williams played one less game than every player in the top 10 aside from Barkley, Hall and Achane who also played 16 games.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re combining stats, performance, impact and \u201cThe Eye Test,\u2019\u2018 Williams is more than just a JAG. … though that\u2019s something that he\u2019ll have to prove to the critics who ignore him once we move beyond Listicle Season and into the actual NFL football season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Like what you see? Try<\/a> the Fish Report!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRISCO – There\u2019s no other way to put it: Javonte Williams\u2019 2025 season for the Dallas Cowboys was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6],"class_list":["post-944435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-cowboys","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallascowboys","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116912774728401370","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}