The Lead
As the Broncos' season came to a close on Saturday, their running back tandem of Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams each passed 900 rushing yards on the season, becoming just the second duo in franchise history to do so.
Only the 2005 combo of Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell previously reached that mark.
In the Week 18 finale against the Chiefs, Gordon led the team on the ground with 110 yards and a touchdown as Denver ran for a season-high 191 total yards. His two explosive runs — one for 29 yards and one for 47 yards and a touchdown — were key to keeping Denver in the game.
With that performance, Gordon finished the season as Denver's leading rusher with 918 yards and its leader in touchdowns with 10.
Williams, who ran for 46 yards against the Chiefs, became only the eighth rusher in Broncos history to eclipse 900 yards as a rookie.
Williams wrapped up his first season in Denver with 903 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, adding another 316 yards and three scores through the air.
As he has for much of the season, Williams continues to hold the highest rate of missed tackles forced per attempt with 31%, according to Pro Football Focus. The next closest rusher is his former UNC teammate, Jets RB Michael Carter, who sits at 26%.
"There arguably wasn’t a more impressive back in all of football on a per-touch basis than Javonte Williams, who averaged a league-high 0.31 missed forced tackles per carry and ranked sixth in yards after contact per rush (3.4)," PFF's Ian Hartitz wrote. "The rookie did so in style."
Below the Fold
Another Broncos rookie who had an impressive rookie campaign was cornerback Pat Surtain II, the No. 9 overall selection in the 2021 draft.
Despite missing the final game of the season with an injury, Surtain finished his first season in Denver with 58 tackles, 14 passes defensed and four interceptions, including a pick-six. He also holds the lowest passer rating allowed by a rookie CB, according to PFF.
Surtain also leads the rookie pack in another category, sharing the lead in forced incompletions and interceptions among rookies (13) with Packers Eric Stokes.
