Knowshon Moreno

Knowshon Moreno was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Denver Broncos and figures to be a part of their plans immediately.  Denver has proven every year that they are capable of extracting production out of any RB, regardless of skill level, and Knowshon is the most talented RB they have had on staff since Clinton Portis.

He is a hard worker with excellent character.  He is not the biggest running back at 5-11 217 pounds and not the fastest per his 4.62 40 yard dash at the Combine.   Despite his slow 40, he is quick at getting through the holes and has a burst when he gets in the open field.  Moreno's intangibles are off the charts (if you could chart intangibles).  He has great vision and instinct and is an incredibly quick decision-maker.  He runs with an attitude and is not afraid to run through instead of around people.   He also has great agility and elusiveness which have garnered several comparisons to Barry Sanders - maybe a slow Barry Sanders.  

He is an every-down back who is great receiver out of the backfield and has excellent hands.  He averaged an amazing 12.17 yard per catch in college which is higher than some receivers taken in the draft.  Moreno has also proven to be more than capable at protecting his QB, and has shown an uncanny knack at reading defenses and making adjustments on the fly.  This guy has NFL star written all over him.

Moreno played every game in college and only left one game early in 2008 with leg cramps.  He also suffered a deep elbow bruise but did not miss any time.  There are concerns as to whether he will be able to hold up to the brutality of the NFL as he is a physical RB who loves contact.  He will, at times, try to run through defenders and will sacrifice his body in the middle of the field to catch balls thrown his way.  That is fine at the college level, but in the pros, linebackers will feel more like lineman and defensive backs more like linebackers; his brand of reckless abandon could cost him some Sundays on the sidelines.

Georgia played six top-25 ranked teams in 2008.

In those six games, he had 110 carries for 590 yards and four TDs, or an average of 18.33 carries per, 98.33 YPG, 5.36 YPC, and .66 TD per game.  In his seven games against non-ranked teams in 2008, he had 138 rushes for 810 yards and 12 TDs, or an average of 19.714 carries per, 115.71 YPG, 5.87  YPC , and 1.7142 TDs per game.

That said, Georgia did have an abundance of talent around Knowshon.  In the 2009 draft, QB Matt Stafford was drafted 1^st overall and the top producing WR, Mohamed Massaquoi, was picked 50^th overall.

Moreno's vertical leap was measured at 25.5 inches and was the worst in the RB field at the 2009 Combine by a long stretch.  The second worst vertical for RBs was 32.0 inches.  In fact, 28 offensive linemen at the combine had higher vertical leaps and only nine offensive lineman had worse vertical leaps.  Here is what Moreno thinks of vertical leap measurements at the Combine:

And this is for anyone that questions Moreno's spin move:

This kid's gonna be good.  Bank on it.

The Broncos are heading into the season with Correll Buckhalter, Lamont Jordan, and Peyton Hillis (will be playing mostly FB), alongside Moreno.  Knowshon will be in line for most of the carries by the end of camp, but do not expect his touches to eclipse 270 total.  That would actually be a best case scenario.  

The Broncos have good receivers in Marshall and Eddie Royal but Kyle Orton's limited arm might shrink the field a bit.  Orton did not seem to hurt Matt Forte's rookie stats (besides his 3.9 YPC)  too much and we aren't sweating Moreno's chances based on that.  

The Broncos are seemingly always able to run the ball effectively (see Mike Anderson, Selvin Young, Olandis Gary, Reuben Droughns, Quentin Griffin, and even Tatum Bell).   Last season, with the garbage they lined up in the backfield, they finished 12^th overall with 1862 yards and and overall 4.8  YPC.  Here is a further breakdown

Michael Pittman averaged 4.22 YPC, Peyton Hillis 5.0, Selvin Young 5.0, Tatum Bell 5.7, Andre Hall 4.1, P.J Pope 7.6, and Ryan Torian 4.6 yards per carry. 

Denver also added one of the best blocking TEs  in the draft in Richard Quinn which should even open more holes for Moreno.  There is the unknown of how the changes in blocking scheme will affect their historically high performing ground game with McDaniels running the show.  It's worthy of note that New England finished 6^th overall in team rushing yards with an equally un-spectacular group of RBs (Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Lamont Jordan, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis)

Knowshon has rookie sleeper written all over him.  Make him the 18th RB off of draft board this summer.

Moreno finally inked his rookie contract on August 7th to the tune of $23 million over five years.  The deal included $13 million guaranteed, but all the other particulars have yet to be let known:

2009 - Under Contract

2010 - Under Contract

2011 - Under Contract

2012 - Under Contract

2013 - Under Contract

2014 - Free Agent

As has been the case in Denver for the last decade, if you draft one, you sorta need to draft the others.  So plan on taking mid-late draft picks on Lamont Jordan and Correll Buckhalter.

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• Major Off-Season Moves


• 2009 NFL Draft

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