San Diego Chargers should sign Knowshon Moreno

While this off-season saw the San Diego Chargers acquired many offensive players in the forms of OG Orlando Franklin and WRs Stevie Johnson, Jacoby Jones and Austin Pettis. However, with the departure of four-year back Ryan Mathews, the Chargers lost a 1,000-yard back and potential franchise guy.

As it stands right now, the Chargers do not have a clear starting running back in their backfield. Of course the Chargers do have veteran Danny Woodhead, but I don’t think Woodhead is talented enough for a starting role in 2015.

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Perhaps Tom Telesco’s silence in signing a running back in this free agency frenzy speaks bigger volumes about a potential selection of a running back in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Many Bolts fans want the Chargers to select Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, however there are still some great free agent options left on the board. One of those great options is former Denver Bronco and Miami Dolphin Knowshon Moreno.

Out of Middletown South High School in Middletown Township in New Jersey, Moreno was as much of an accomplished sprinter and track star as he was a football player. Moreno is the proud owner of a school record for the fastest 100-meter dash time at 11.01 seconds. At the 2005 Monmouth County Championships, he captured three state titles, winning the 100 meters (11.1 s), the long jump (6.68 m) and the triple jump (13.38 m).

In terms of what he was able to do on the football field, Knowshon Moreno was even more dominating, rushing for 3,659 yards, 65 touchdowns and a 9.9 yards per carry average in his final two seasons on varsity. Moreno averaged an unbelievable 166.3 yards per game over his junior and senior seasons at Middletown South.

Moreno was ranked as the 10th and ninth-best running back by Rivals.com and Scout.com’s, respectively, before signing to play with the Georgia Bulldogs.

After red-shirting his first season, Moreno rushed for 1,336 yards and 14 touchdowns on 248 carries (5.4 yards per carry) with 20 catches for 253 yards. Moreno’s performance earned him SEC Freshman of the Week (x3) honors and SEC Offensive Player of the Week (x1). He was named onto the all-SEC first team and was the unanimous SEC Freshman of the Year. He was the featured tailback on the Freshman All-American first team and was named to the All-Freshman SEC team. Moreno was also named Freshman Offensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News.

During his sophomore season, Moreno improved, rushing for 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns on 250 attempts (5.6 yards per carry average). Not to mention, Moreno also beefed up his receiving abilities with 392 yards and two touchdowns on 33 receptions.

These great numbers deemed Moreno worthy of Heisman watch lists early on in the season. And although he didn’t win the award, he came in second place in Doak Walker award voting which is the award for the nation’s best running back. He was named first-team All-SEC for the second consecutive year, and was a second-team All-American selection.

It is no wonder why Moreno was drafted as the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Moreno’s college achievements coupled with a good combine showing (4.5 40-yard dash time, 25 bench press reps and 35.5″ vertical jump height) gave the former New Jersey back the ultimate NFL-ready resume.

With the Denver Broncos, Moreno faced some injury and fumble problems early on in his career, but, never-the-less, found a way to succeed in the mile high city. From 2009-2013, the former Bull Dog rushed for 3,468 yards and 26 touchdowns with a 4.2 yards per carry average and two seasons over 947 yards rushing (2009, 2013). It’s unfortunate that Moreno made the biggest impact in his last season as a Bronco, amassing 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground and 548 yards and three touchdowns on 60 receptions through the air.

The Broncos parted ways with Moreno, who then signed as a Miami Dolphin for the 2014 season. Moreno burst onto the scene with a 134-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Patriots in week one and was thought to have a huge season ahead of him. Unfortunately, Moreno tore his ACL and was out for the entire 2014 season after just three games played.

Currently, the 27 year-old Moreno has not been signed by any team and remains a free agent.

I believe that the Chargers, with their backfield starter-less, should take a chance on Moreno. He’s still relatively young and has shown that he can produce at a high level, especially in the AFC.

And while injury concerns are a big factor in Moreno’s case, I think that he is the best option out there out of Stevan Ridley, Chris Johnson, Pierre Thomas and Steven Jackson.

Moreno adds an added element of toughness and physicality that the Bolts haven’t seen in recent years since Mike Tolbert was on the team. If they give Moreno a chance, they will be in a good position considering that Moreno has played against AFC teams his entire NFL career and knows the territory (no pun intended).

At this point in the season, it isn’t a matter of whether or not the Chargers will sign a high-powered back this off-season, but who the Chargers sign. The rookie option is very tempting and has some incentives, however, given the veteran presence on this squad, I think Moreno could give San Diego the best chance to make a playoff run this season.

As long as Moreno stays healthy (which is a big thing to ask), I think that the Chargers could be successful.

Next: Danny Woodhead is key to Chargers 2015 success

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