It was always obvious. There is just more proof now.
The Dallas Cowboys struck a deal with running back Javonte Williams a few weeks ago and did so very quietly and methodically. It came out of nowhere and sort of caught people by surprise.
Free agency officially opened in the NFL on Monday, not technically officially just in a legal tampering sort of way, and there are already running backs who have found new homes. These deals offer some important perspective.
The Cowboys deal for Javonte Williams looks even better now
The most notable deals to happen at the
running back position on Monday involved Kenneth Walker and Travis Etienne. The former, coming off of a Super Bowl MVP performance with the Seattle Seahawks, agreed to a 3-year, $45M deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Shortly after Etienne agreed to a 4-year, $52M deal with the Saints.
Consider the current state of the running back market and where Javonte Williams ranks within it, per Spotrac.
Etienne’s new teammate in Alvin Kamara even ranks ahead of Williams here which goes to show just how smoothly the Cowboys slid in with their top running back option. The argument here is not that Williams is the player that anybody listed ahead of him is, but his production last year is a great sign of hope that he can continue to be that quality of player for the Cowboys. And assuming that is the case it will happen at a pretty friendly rate for the team.
Getting ahead of the market has not exactly been a strength of the Cowboys’ in recent history, but there is no denying that they did in this case. They are locked in and very comfortably so at one of the more important spots on their roster.
