Javonte Williams says he’s “ready” but is he?
Is Javonte really ready?
News broke today that Javonte Williams is stating that he feels he's "ready", but there is way more to this story.
The video included in this article will really paint the picture well, so give it a watch... but, in a nutshell, Javonte is still very much nowhere near ready, making this a "upside" and "downside" article quite frankly..
Here are two of his exact quotes:
Look, as much as I want to say Javonte is for sure playing Week 1, we still have no clue. The news today is a nothing burger. This is "player speak" by Javonte, as his comments were all over the map in terms of his readiness. I'm not saying he won't tear it up in 2023 once he is back on his horse, but until we see him cutting and running, we have to assume he isn't ready for Week 1. Players will always speak optimistically, and that's what he did with today's news. We have to draft Javonte as if he won't help anyone for the first month or so of football.
Again, I am not suggesting that we won't get really good news next month, as we could. Until we get a substantial report, which this isn't, we need to assume that we know nothing. Coach Sean Payton even said during his last press conference that he probably will not give people all of the information on where Javonte is at. He said that among other things, all of which was all over the place.
I love Javonte, but he belongs in round 6-7, preferably 7... any earlier and he is too much of a risk given the other options available prior to round 6.
Watch the video for more, but know that I am very much in Javonte's corner and I hope we continue to steal him away in round 7, where the risk is baked into the cost of entry. Let's hope this 'nothing burger news' today doesn't move up his ADP in unwarranted fashion... the 7th is where the value is at. Also, Samaje Perine is going about a round or two later than Javonte, and he has nice standalone RB3-type value this year. But, he is a great cuff, and in a way you could lock down your RB2 this year by taking both at their 7 and 8-9 ADP.
On a side note, let's hope Russell Wilson returns to form, or somewhere near his old form, as that will be another important part of a Javonte rebound. A good and solid passing attack will allow Javonte room to run while he gets his explosiveness back. Do I believe in Wilson? Not really, but that's from a 'fantasy' perspective... do I think he can move the football down the field under the new command of Sean Payton? Yes, that I do think is possible, even if the team isn't winning.