Knowshon Moreno had over 1500 yards from scrimmage last season (1038 rushing and 548 receiving), but was still available about 3 weeks into free agency. However, there were reasons for that. The running back position has been strongly devalued in the NFL. We’re in an off-season where no running back has gotten more than 4 million dollars yearly and going into a draft where no running back is expected to go in the first round (after none went in the first round last year either).

Also, as much production as Moreno had last year, much of it was the product of Peyton Manning. Moreno rarely faced stacked boxes and, much more often than not, was running against boxes of 6 or fewer defenders. In spite of that, he actually just rushed for 4.31 yards per carry, which isn’t a spectacular average. He was just Pro Football Focus’ 23^rd ranked running back in terms of running grade. He’s a talented pass catcher and pass protector, but he’s an average runner at best. He also missed 20 games from 2010-2012 and had just 426 touches over those 3 seasons. There’s a reason why the Broncos showed no interest in bringing in back with Montee Ball behind him on the depth chart.

All that being said, the Dolphins are getting him at a very reasonable rate, as he’s owed just 3 million over 1 year. Compare this to contracts received by Darren McFadden (1 year, 4 million), Joique Bell (3 years, 9.3 million), Donald Brown (3 years, 10.5 million), Ben Tate (2 years, 7 million) and Rashad Jennings (4 years, 14 million) this off-season. This adds some stability to a Dolphins backfield that was previously very murky with Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, and Mike Gillislee.

Grade: A-

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