The starting job was Williams’ to lose, and indeed, he did not lose it. The praise stops there. Williams will likely handle a flex-worthy workload against the Eagles’ vaunted defense in Week 1, while Miles Sanders and Jaydon Blue rotate in behind him. Unless Williams regains his long-lost burst, he could end up ceding touches quickly as the weeks progress. Sanders does not need to be rostered in 12-team leagues. Buy Blue’s potential ADP dip. The talented receiving back is a good fit for the Cowboys’ expectedly pass-heavy game scripts.

Machota notes that Javonte Williams has seen “the most reps with the starters,” but also points out the fact that Miles Sanders (knee) and Jaydon Blue (ankle) have both been sidelined with injuries. The fact that there are no standouts in Dallas’ backfield shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the veterans of the group both underperformed in the previous season with their respective teams. Williams is a surefire bet to open as the team’s starter if both Sanders and Blue are unable to go, but there’s a good chance this backfield remains in flux early into the season until a clear-cut starter emerges.

Watkins also lists Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders as the two backs who are “competing for the starting gig,” leaving out rookie RB Jaydon Blue, whose work ethic drew criticism last week. Neither Williams nor Sanders has performed explosively in recent seasons, leaving touch volume as their lone path to fantasy upside. Should the two be stuck in a timeshare, they could be effectively unusable for our purposes.

Williams’ stable rushing metrics have suffered since tearing his ACL and LCL, while also damaging the posterolateral corner of his knee. Over the last two seasons, Williams’ missed tackle forced rate (0.16) has dropped by 50.0 percent of his pre-injury form and his post-contact yardage average likewise decreased by 0.8 yards. Thus far in organized team activities, “Williams has been taking a majority of the first team reps at running back,” but as Yarrish notes, “there are a lot of bodies” in the Cowboys running back room. Per Williams, it remains unclear as to “what kind of rotation will be utilized” by new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, or “if there will be one at all.” Williams’ early first-team repetitions serve as a positive sign, but there is a long way to go before the depth chart is established. For now, Williams should only be viewed as a member of an unsettled committee.