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The Dallas Cowboys don’t typically create much noise in free agency. The family-owned franchise prefers to build through the draft rather shop the open market. Exceptions are made but the frugal Cowboys rarely break the bank for external, high-profile players. This strategy has been a source of constant criticism in and around the fanbase for years.
The Cowboys' preferred strategy in free agency is to target low-cost players with boom-or-bust potential. The low-risk, high-reward nature of these signings is right up Jerry Jones’ alley, given his speculative roots in the oil industry. Most of the time these low-key signings offer very little to the team, but every once in a while, they hit big. In the case of Javonte Williams, it was clearly the latter.
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When the Cowboys first signed Williams in March of 2025 very few predicted it would be as impactful of a signing as it turned out to be. Williams was coming off back-to-back poor seasons in Denver and had shown little-to-no improvement from a knee injury suffered early in 2022.
Sticky stats (predictive indicators) showed a player who could hit a hole but added very little extra value of his own. Cowboys fans saw a player who was probably a downgrade to Rico Dowdle, their previous lead back. Rather than a replacement, they saw a platoon option who would need a rookie running back to help share the load.
Williams proved everyone wrong. Rushing for 1,201 yards in 16 games, Williams ranked ninth in the NFL. Of the eight players who ranked ahead of him in rushing yards, Williams’ 56.3 percent success rate was third, ranking only behind Los Angeles’ Kyren Williams and Buffalo’s James Cook.
Williams' season was so successful he was ranked by Pro Football Focus as a top 20 free agent signing of 2025. His rushing grade of 80.5 ranked 15th and his 3.58 yards after contact/carry ranked fourth among qualifying ball carriers. All in all, it was a wildly successful season for a player Dallas signed for just $3M in free agency.
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Williams is a free agent this March so there is a very real possibility he’s one-and-done in Dallas. The Cowboys would like to keep the tone-setting runner around another year but the 25-year-old has earned a significant pay raise and may have priced himself right out of Dallas.
Regardless of what the future holds, Williams was a steal for the Cowboys in 2025 and proof teams don’t need to break the bank to find impactful players.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys signed Javonte Williams for $3M, and got a Top-20 free agent
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