The team that had a Marino as a quarterback now has a Moreno at tailback. Knowshon Moreno has agreed to a contract with the Dolphins.
Moreno comes off a solid season but like all the other free agent running backs didn’t get heavy interest from many teams. He’ll compete with Lamar Miller for playing time, and they’ll probably both play plenty.
Moreno is steady as a runner. Not lots of big plays, but he’s functional. He ran for 1,038 for the Broncos last year.
It’s in the passing game where he excels. Not only as a receiver but in pass protection as well. That’s why he played ahead of Montee Ball last year. He’s a lot better than Miller in that area.
Pass-catching for running backs is huge in today’s game. Perhaps in part because more teams are ignoring fullbacks, tailbacks are catching more passes.
In the last 10 years, 35 running backs have had at least 500 receiving yards in a season. Ten of those backs came from last year – more than any other recent season.
RUNNING BACKS WITH 500 RECEIVING YARDS | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Tm | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
2006 | Steven Jackson | St.L. | 90 | 806 | 9.0 | 3 |
2007 | Brian Westbrook | Phil. | 90 | 771 | 8.6 | 5 |
2006 | Reggie Bush | N.O. | 88 | 742 | 8.4 | 2 |
2011 | Darren Sproles | N.O. | 86 | 710 | 8.3 | 7 |
2011 | Ray Rice | Balt. | 76 | 704 | 9.3 | 3 |
2004 | Brian Westbrook | Phil. | 73 | 703 | 9.6 | 6 |
2009 | Ray Rice | Balt. | 78 | 702 | 9.0 | 1 |
2006 | Brian Westbrook | Phil. | 77 | 699 | 9.1 | 4 |
2013 | Jamaal Charles | K.C. | 70 | 693 | 9.9 | 7 |
2012 | Darren Sproles | N.O. | 75 | 667 | 8.9 | 7 |
2011 | Arian Foster | Hou. | 53 | 617 | 11.6 | 2 |
2005 | Brian Westbrook | Phil. | 61 | 616 | 10.1 | 4 |
2013 | Danny Woodhead | S.D. | 76 | 605 | 8.0 | 6 |
2013 | Darren Sproles | N.O. | 71 | 604 | 8.5 | 2 |
2010 | Arian Foster | Hou. | 66 | 604 | 9.2 | 2 |
2013 | Matt Forte | Chi. | 74 | 594 | 8.0 | 3 |
2010 | LeSean McCoy | Phil. | 78 | 592 | 7.6 | 2 |
2004 | Domanick Davis | Hou. | 68 | 588 | 8.6 | 1 |
2004 | Tiki Barber | NYG | 52 | 578 | 11.1 | 2 |
2008 | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jac. | 62 | 565 | 9.1 | 2 |
2005 | LaMont Jordan | Oak. | 70 | 563 | 8.0 | 2 |
2010 | Ray Rice | Balt. | 63 | 556 | 8.8 | 1 |
2013 | Knowshon Moreno | Den. | 60 | 548 | 9.1 | 3 |
2013 | Joique Bell | Det. | 53 | 547 | 10.3 | 0 |
2010 | Matt Forte | Chi. | 51 | 547 | 10.7 | 3 |
2013 | LeSean McCoy | Phil. | 52 | 539 | 10.4 | 2 |
2005 | Tiki Barber | NYG | 54 | 530 | 9.8 | 2 |
2010 | Darren Sproles | S.D. | 59 | 520 | 8.8 | 2 |
2006 | Kevin Jones | Det. | 61 | 520 | 8.5 | 2 |
2013 | Giovani Bernard | Cin. | 56 | 514 | 9.2 | 3 |
2013 | Pierre Thomas | N.O. | 77 | 513 | 6.7 | 3 |
2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson | S.D. | 56 | 508 | 9.1 | 3 |
2010 | Darren McFadden | Oak. | 47 | 507 | 10.8 | 3 |
2013 | Reggie Bush | Det. | 54 | 506 | 9.4 | 3 |
2009 | Chris Johnson | Tenn. | 50 | 503 | 10.1 | 2 |
Passing catching is also key, of course, in fantasy ball. If you can land a runner who’ll finish with 400-600 receiving yards, that guy gets a big head start on ground-based players like BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Alfred Morris. Especially acute in the PPR format, where it’s not only the yards but the catches themselves. In the PPR system, 48 receptions is the same as 8 touchdowns.
—Ian Allan