Denver Broncos 2011: Has Knowshon Moreno Lost His Starting Position?

Even before the Broncos hit the field for their first official practice, new head coach John Fox appears to be saying “no” to Knowshon.

Moreno, who was drafted by the Broncos 12^th overall in 2009, appeared to be a game changing prospect coming out of Georgia.

Revisionist history has now shown just how bad this pick wound up being with names like Orakpo, Cushing and Clay Matthews still on the board when it happened.

At the time, though, Moreno was viewed by many as a solid prospect capable of being a perennial 1,000-yard rusher.

Therefore, even though fans felt like there were stronger needs elsewhere, they at least took comfort in knowing that the running back position was squared away for years to come.

Years have come…and gone. Moreno has been so underwhelming in his time as a Bronco that John Fox appears to be wasting no time in making it clear that Moreno will not be his every down back.

Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post has reported that the Broncos “now see Moreno as more of a situational player for them.” It can be reasonably assumed that the situation they are referring to is third down.

This really should come as no surprise and, honestly, Moreno probably saw the writing on the wall when Fox was hired.

Some might look at this situation and say that Fox would like to bring DeAngelo Williams in to do what Moreno cannot do; carry the ball 30 plus times per game.

Actually, a peek at the statistics tells you that Williams has never averaged more then 17 carries a game in his NFL career. So he and Moreno are actually on par when it comes to that statistic.

The simple truth is that Moreno is not productive when carrying the ball and really only poses a threat in the short passing game.

The perfect evidence came in the week two victory over the Seattle Seahawks where Moreno’s stat line looked like this:

24 carries for 51 yards, four catches for 67 yards

Knowshon had an anemic yard per carry average, but was a difference maker coming out of the backfield in the short passing game.

Coming off a season with only four wins, the sample size for “successful” game plans is small and therefore easy to pick out what to carry over into next season.

Most fans will look at this as a “demotion” but it is just the team finally coming to terms with what they really have. What they really have is a player who is more Reggie Bush than Michael Turner.

Is that really such a bad thing?

Reggie Bush is far from the every down back for the New Orleans Saints, but he still played an integral role in their Super Bowl victory.

The Saints have done a great job of utilizing Bush’s skill sets and surrounding him with other backs to handle the heavy lifting. When he is out of the lineup, his absence is noticeable and it makes defensive scheming against the Saints much easier.  

If the Broncos can do the same with Knowshon Moreno they could actually recover some of the value that has been lost over the past two seasons.

The switch also makes sense from the standpoint that the Broncos will be looking to protect the investment they made in Moreno. They have him under contract for three more seasons with a club option for 2014.

Knowshon is dangerously close to becoming a regular in the training room and so a lightening of his load should help to keep him off the IR.

In the end, this should be a good sign for Bronco fans—provided that the team goes out and gets a productive running back for Moreno to compliment.

Knowshon Moreno could see his career be saved by a coach actually realizing what he has instead of trying to make him something that he is not.