Now that the Saints have plugged their holes on defense, talk is beginning to concentrate on the "best player available" strategy in the draft--and a lot of that talk centers around drafting a running back, either Chris Wells or Knowshon Moreno.
We'll get into more detail on Moreno as a draft choice later on. But for now, I want to share an insight I had while researching Moreno's career and how he might fit with the Saints:
Knowshon Moreno is Pierre Thomas.
I can't think of anything Moreno would bring to the Saints that Thomas doesn't already provide. Here are Thomas's and Moreno's personal stats:
Pierre Thomas | Knowshon Moreno | ||||
Height | Weight | 40 Time | Height | Weight | 40 Time |
5' 11" | 215 | 4.66 | 5' 11" | 217 | 4.60 |
Physically, Moreno and Thomas are virtually identical. Now, a comparison of their seasonal stats:
Pierre Thomas | Knowshon Moreno | |||||||
Year | Team | Carries | Yards | Average | Team | Carries | Yards | Average |
2004 | Illinois | 152 | 893 | 5.9 | ||||
2005 | Illinois | 127 | 664 | 5.2 | ||||
2006 | Illinois | 131 | 755 | 5.8 | ||||
2007 | Saints | 52 | 252 | 4.8 | Georgia | 248 | 1336 | 5.4 |
2008 | Saints | 129 | 625 | 4.8 | Georgia | 250 | 1400 | 5.6 |
Two things stand out: 1, that Thomas' college average was actually even better than Moreno's; and 2, that Thomas never had the workload that Moreno did. Moreno has proven that he can carry 250 times a season; but in New Orleans, would he? Would he, in fact, bring anything to the team that Thomas doesn't already give us?