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As we all know our running back core has plagued by injuries this year. Some of those injuries shouldn't come as much a suprise. Selvin Young, Ryan Torain, and a over 30 Michael Pittman are susceptible to injury thus should never be expected to carry the load at RB. I do see a future for Torain mostly because of his size and North-South running style. Selvin gets stuffed too much on 1st and 2nd down to be an effective runner, but I will admit he could be valuable as a 3rd down back. However, his position as a 3rd down RB would become a fairly moot point with the addition of Moreno. Pittman could be valuable more for his knowledge than his playing but at his age his abilities on the field are on a significant decline. Not to mention that his football experience is relatively insignificant considering we have Bobby Turner as the Broncos RB's coach.
That leaves Andre Hall, Anthony Alridge, PJ Pope, Cory Boyd and Peyton Hillis. Andre Hall is kind of a jack-of-all trades in that he is decent at several things but absolutely nothing stands out in his game. His speed and power are decent but nowhere near what the Broncos need in the backfield. Hall is not even effective in the return game or on third down because his vision is not all that great at finding the holes in the defense or anticipating where the blitz is coming from. Pope is almost a clone of Hall and both possess most of the same attributes.
On the other hand I do see some promise in the other 3: Alridge, Boyd and Hillis. My optimism for Boyd mostly revolves around what he did in college in the SEC and his skill set, so therefore I will hold off judgement until I can see how his skills translate to the NFL. Alridge showed me in preseason (despite the competition) that he his explosive. He could certainly be valuable in the return game, thus giving Eddie Royal a break from having to return kicks and punts so he can concentrate on being the #2 reciever. Alridge could also be effective as a poor man's Sproles where the Broncos could line him up in the backfield and then send him out wide on 3rd downs. So now we come to one of my favorite players on the team, Peyton Hillis. There is nothing about this guy that I don't like, his skill set is incredible and he can be used in a variety of ways to create mismatches. Perhaps the only thing I see Hillis needing to improve on is his run blocking, but that should improve with experience. However given his skill set, I still feel he would be most valuable to this offense as a FB not becuase he is a bad running back but rather if you add his skill set with another talented running back like Knowshon in the backfield you create all sorts of mismatches with the defense in both the passing and running game.
Now you are asking yourself, 'Why don't we go after a DT, FS, or MLB in the first round?' The main reason being that we should not have to wait around while a defensive lineman develops and the rest of the team ages or leaves. I will admit that a FS or MLB could come in and have an impact immediately, but the problem I see is there are no FS or MLB in the draft that will actually have the value in the 1st round. Personally I think we already have our MLB, Spencer Larsen but that he can't play there mostly due to the rediculous injuries that have piled up on the Broncos. Regarding FS, this draft class is more about depth than top end talent and I don't see either Moore or Mays as instinctual players capable of playing centerfield on the Broncos defense.
Now that brings us to the moral of the story, Knowshon Moreno. I will admit that I am a little biased because I go to Georgia, but don't let that make you think I can't appreciate a rare talent like Knowshon. I went to the UGA spring game in '07 and the one player (even before all the press and fanfare) that stood out in that game was Knowshon. Now to his attributes that would make him a dominate RB in Denver. Knowshon has incredible vision, he can see gaps in the defense better than anyone. This quality has been key to his success at Georgia because honestly he has not had the best o-line (3 freshman, 2 Sophmores) to run behind. Moreno does not have incredible speed but he has a great burst through the hole and even better lateral quickness which he uses to make people miss in the open field.
Some of Knowshon's underrated abilities are that he does not fumble the ball (2 lost fumble in about 500 touches). He has a wicked stiff arm and spin/juke move, and he is very good coming out of the backfield on 3rd down either a pass blocker or as a reciever. He is actually a pretty good PR man but I doubt any smart team would ever use him as such. The one thing above else that stands out when I watch him play is his determination. This determination makes him play like a much bigger back than he is as he will try to run through a defender if he can't get around them. Perhaps importantly it makes him a dangerous back in that he has a nose for the Endzone. All in all he is a gamechanger that I sincerely hope that the Broncos and others on this board will consider as our 1st round pick next year. :salute!:
That leaves Andre Hall, Anthony Alridge, PJ Pope, Cory Boyd and Peyton Hillis. Andre Hall is kind of a jack-of-all trades in that he is decent at several things but absolutely nothing stands out in his game. His speed and power are decent but nowhere near what the Broncos need in the backfield. Hall is not even effective in the return game or on third down because his vision is not all that great at finding the holes in the defense or anticipating where the blitz is coming from. Pope is almost a clone of Hall and both possess most of the same attributes.
On the other hand I do see some promise in the other 3: Alridge, Boyd and Hillis. My optimism for Boyd mostly revolves around what he did in college in the SEC and his skill set, so therefore I will hold off judgement until I can see how his skills translate to the NFL. Alridge showed me in preseason (despite the competition) that he his explosive. He could certainly be valuable in the return game, thus giving Eddie Royal a break from having to return kicks and punts so he can concentrate on being the #2 reciever. Alridge could also be effective as a poor man's Sproles where the Broncos could line him up in the backfield and then send him out wide on 3rd downs. So now we come to one of my favorite players on the team, Peyton Hillis. There is nothing about this guy that I don't like, his skill set is incredible and he can be used in a variety of ways to create mismatches. Perhaps the only thing I see Hillis needing to improve on is his run blocking, but that should improve with experience. However given his skill set, I still feel he would be most valuable to this offense as a FB not becuase he is a bad running back but rather if you add his skill set with another talented running back like Knowshon in the backfield you create all sorts of mismatches with the defense in both the passing and running game.
Now you are asking yourself, 'Why don't we go after a DT, FS, or MLB in the first round?' The main reason being that we should not have to wait around while a defensive lineman develops and the rest of the team ages or leaves. I will admit that a FS or MLB could come in and have an impact immediately, but the problem I see is there are no FS or MLB in the draft that will actually have the value in the 1st round. Personally I think we already have our MLB, Spencer Larsen but that he can't play there mostly due to the rediculous injuries that have piled up on the Broncos. Regarding FS, this draft class is more about depth than top end talent and I don't see either Moore or Mays as instinctual players capable of playing centerfield on the Broncos defense.
Now that brings us to the moral of the story, Knowshon Moreno. I will admit that I am a little biased because I go to Georgia, but don't let that make you think I can't appreciate a rare talent like Knowshon. I went to the UGA spring game in '07 and the one player (even before all the press and fanfare) that stood out in that game was Knowshon. Now to his attributes that would make him a dominate RB in Denver. Knowshon has incredible vision, he can see gaps in the defense better than anyone. This quality has been key to his success at Georgia because honestly he has not had the best o-line (3 freshman, 2 Sophmores) to run behind. Moreno does not have incredible speed but he has a great burst through the hole and even better lateral quickness which he uses to make people miss in the open field.
Some of Knowshon's underrated abilities are that he does not fumble the ball (2 lost fumble in about 500 touches). He has a wicked stiff arm and spin/juke move, and he is very good coming out of the backfield on 3rd down either a pass blocker or as a reciever. He is actually a pretty good PR man but I doubt any smart team would ever use him as such. The one thing above else that stands out when I watch him play is his determination. This determination makes him play like a much bigger back than he is as he will try to run through a defender if he can't get around them. Perhaps importantly it makes him a dangerous back in that he has a nose for the Endzone. All in all he is a gamechanger that I sincerely hope that the Broncos and others on this board will consider as our 1st round pick next year. :salute!:
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