The Cowboys didn’t just find a running back on a one-year deal - they found the guy who now owns the backfield.
Javonte Williams came to Dallas on a $3.5 million “prove-it” contract after four uneven seasons in Denver, and he wasted no time turning that opportunity into something much bigger. By the end of the year, he had become the clear bell cow, piling up 252 carries for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns across 16 games.
Those numbers told the story. Williams averaged 4.8 yards per carry, both a career high and the best rushing season Dallas has had since Ezekiel Elliott went for 1,357 yards in 2019.
That kind of production didn’t just earn attention - it earned a new deal. In February, the Cowboys gave him a three-year, $24 million extension with $16 million guaranteed, keeping him as the lead back through 2028.
For Dallas, the price was right. Williams’ $8 million average annual salary ties him for 16th among NFL running backs, right in the neighborhood of what Tony Pollard makes in Tennessee.
Williams, though, isn’t treating any of that as the finish line. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, he laid out exactly what he’s chasing next: "I've still got a lot more to prove.
I at least want to go to the Pro Bowl and definitely want to get to a Super Bowl with the team. Just working hard, grinding, and trying to be a better version of myself.
That's all I'm worried about."
That mindset has already won over people inside the building. Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, speaking on NFL Spotlight, praised Williams’ maturity, consistency and physical style, saying those traits stood out from the start.
There is still a little unfinished business from last season. Williams’ workload dipped over his final eight games, when he got fewer touches than he did in the first eight. Even so, Dallas has a productive offense and no proven depth chart threat behind him, which points to another heavy season ahead.
He missed the Pro Bowl last year. That’s clearly sticking with him. And after the way he turned one shot into a long-term role, Williams sounds like a back who’s not done climbing yet.
In Other News...
Jerry Jones Is Already Facing Heat Over One Cowboys Defensive Call
The Cowboys decision to move on from Osa Odighizuwa is already drawing scrutiny, and it is easy to see why. Dallas has been working to trim salary-cap commitments and stockpile draft capital, and the trade was part of that broader plan while also creating a clearer path for younger defensive linemen to play more. It is the kind of roster-management move that can make sense in the abstract, especially for a team trying to balance present needs with future flexibility.
Still, the reaction has not been uniformly positive, because the choice invites an obvious comparison to Kenny Clark, who remains on the roster. One ESPN analyst questioned whether Dallas may have let the better long-term defensive tackle go, and that kind of second-guessing tends to linger when a front office is trying to sell a move as part of a bigger strategy. For Jerry Jones, the challenge now is not just defending the logic of the trade, but proving the Cowboys got the right side of the defensive line equation. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys May Already Regret One Offensive Line Depth Decision
The Cowboys decision not to tender Brock Hoffman looked like a routine depth move at the time, but it has taken on a different feel with the interior line picture shifting again. Hoffman had quietly given Dallas useful flexibility as a backup center and guard, the kind of insurance policy teams tend to miss only after it is gone.
Now the concern is less about what Hoffman was then and more about what Dallas has left behind him. With the lines depth chart already thinned, the Cowboys are leaning more heavily on T.J. Bass behind Cooper Beebe, and Hoffmans ability to handle multiple interior spots makes the choice to move on from him look increasingly questionable. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Still Have One Line Problem That Could Haunt 2026
The Cowboys spent the offseason reshaping parts of their defense, moving on from Matt Eberflus, bringing in Christian Parker and adding new pieces around that side of the ball. But for all the attention on those changes, the more uneasy question may still be up front on offense, where the tackle spots look awfully familiar and awfully unsettled heading toward the next season.
Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele are still the names most likely to open at tackle, even though neither has given Dallas much reason to feel settled there in recent years. The team did add Drew Shelton as a developmental option, but he is not viewed as someone who can push for a starting job right away, which leaves the Cowboys with more hope than competition at a position group that could end up mattering just as much as any defensive overhaul. [Read more 🡒]