Javonte Williams is healthy and ready

Sean Payton has been readying the Denver Broncos up to go for the regular season, which officially starts for Denver this Sunday vs the Las Vegas Raiders. Following last night’s practice, Payton spoke in a press conference and placed an emphasis on some of their run game-related things, including Javonte Williams’ return.

“It’ll be good,” Payton said of Williams’ upcoming game appearances, “I told him and [Samaje] Perine both, ‘I’m anxious to see you guys run.’ They’ve gotten a lot of work, and yet, both of them are new to me.”

The head coach added that both of them “will be very active in the game.”

Williams, for his part, is feeling more “relaxed” with his recovery now that he’s been tackled in practice and had some time to get back into the swing of things.

“I feel just like if I already came in healthy,” he said.

The Broncos are facing the Raiders tomorrow, which happens to be the same matchup as when Williams’ injury occurred last year, putting him out of the rest of that season. As one can imagine, he was asked whether this affected his nerves for tomorrow.

“Yeah, I think about it,” Williams said, but added that he has to work through it. “I mean, it’s just another team we got to get through on our way to the playoffs.”

Asked about what’s impressed him about RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Williams had high praise for his “explosiveness” and “confidence” as a rookie.

“I feel like his confidence is sky high,” he shared, “He feels like he can do anything on the field, and that’s a good trait to have.”

Williams feels confident, too, that he and the other runners on the team can set a good tone for the run game this year.

“It’s not [that] you just sit back and drop and wait for the ball to be thrown,” he shared, noting that the run game is something you see coming.

“So I mean us — [and] the offensive line, even the receivers, when they’re blocking on the perimeter wall — we’ve all got to be on the same side to get that physicality,” he continued.

Catch the Broncos playing against the Raiders tomorrow at 2:25 MT. We’re excited to see what Williams and the rest of the running backs have in store!