There were a lot of surprises for the Cowboys in 2025, but one player has stood out to an anonymous scout.
Redemption seasons are now becoming a regular occurrence in the NFL, and for the Dallas Cowboys, they had two players who had a 2025 to remember.
One was George Pickens. The other was Javonte Williams.
Last offseason, the Cowboys' running back room was a big question mark, even with the signing of Williams, as he was coming off a season in Denver that yielded just 513 yards and 4 TDs.
Having been pushed down the pecking order, Williams moved on and signed with Dallas.
He wasn't seen at all in preseason as the Cowboys made up their mind early that he was the guy to lead the room, and that decision proved correct as Javonte had a career-best season in Dallas.
A total of 1,201 yards and 11 TDs saw Williams lead the Cowboys' ground attack to a top 10 unit, a place they hadn't been in years. Such was Javonte's season; the Cowboys signed him to a three-year, $24 million deal this offseason.
And for an anonymous scout who spoke to Fox Sports' Ralph Vacchiano as part of his best supporting cast piece, Williams was by far the biggest surprise packet for Dallas.
"(Williams) surprised me with how strong a runner he was," a scout told Vacchiano. "But I was even more surprised by how much he was used. He really takes the pressure off the passing game."
(Sidebar: We're not sure why this scout needs to be "anonymous''; is this opinion going to get him in trouble or something? Anyway ...)
Williams would have 252 rushing attempts, easily the most of his career, and was the tenth-most in football.
We knew that Brian Schottenheimer wanted to run the ball, and Dallas did, and did it well. Williams would finish ninth in yards and eighth in touchdowns in what was a superb season.
Williams also caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 TDs to help out in the passing game, but perhaps the biggest and best role he played was as a pass protector for Dak Prescott.
So many times, a free rusher was bearing down on Dak, only for No. 33 to step up and stonewall them, giving Prescott an extra second or two.
Such was Williams' ability to excel in pass protection that, when he needed a breather, Dallas looked shaky in passing situations. So that only further highlights Javonte's value to the offense.
Williams entered the 2025 season needing to prove he could still be productive, and you can definitely say he did that.
Now in his second season in Dallas, and with a shiny new contract in his back pocket, what's he got for an encore?
