Drafting Knowshon was a mistake?

In 2009, the Denver Broncos took Knowshon Moreno with their first-round pick. Head coach Josh McDaniels said at the time something to the effect that it was important because finding those special backs is so hard.

That wasn’t true then and it’s not true now. Solid running backs in the NFL grow on trees. And so far, Knowshon hasn’t separated himself as anyone who is all that special.

In two seasons, he’s got 1,726 yards and 12 TD’s, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. That’s not bad, but it’s not special. And John Fox’s recent comments about adding a running back would more than imply that he agrees that Knowshon isn’t special.

“We’ve got to run the ball more and better, and (another) running back is our No. 1 priority (in free agency),” he said.

Teams with studs at running back don’t make those kinds of comments.

So it seems like the Broncos could land a guy like DeAngelo Williams, who is the prize of the free agent RB market and played for Fox his entire career in Carolina. This would make Knowshon take a step back and possibly relegate him to third-down duties.

You don’t take third-down backs with the 12th-overall pick in a draft (you take them with the 2nd-overall pick, like in 2006 with the Saints). So while it might be early to call Knowshon a bust (he’s not), he clearly wasn’t worth taking that high.