The New York Giants need for a running back is one that the team thought they had all squared away last season with David Wilson and Andre Brown, but with Wilson recovering from neck surgery and Brown a free agent, the only healthy option on the team is Michael Cox, and he was far from impressive in his limited time in 2013, so that puts the Giants in the mix for a back.
Different options like James Starks and Ben Tate have been discussed, but now there's a new name to add to the mix in Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno, who finally broke out and had his finest season in Denver, rushing for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns for the AFC Champions.
A report in the Latin Times has stated that the Giants are "very high" on Moreno pending that he doesn't re-sign with the Denver Broncos, who could decide to move on without him and go with Monte Ball as their main back on offense.
"While the Giants will undoubtedly look to re-sign organizational free agents in defensive tackle Linval Joseph, safety Stevie Brown – who missed all of last season with an ACL injury – cornerback Terrell Thomas, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and running back Andre Brown among others, multiple reports indicate that 1,000-yard rusher Knowshon Moreno is high on New York's radar as well."
Moreno isn't the best running back on the market, but he's one of the better ones who could certainly fit well into the Giants offense and thrive playing in New Jersey considering he grew up in New Jersey playing in Monmouth County for the Middletown South Eagles and won three New Jersey state championships while in high school from 2001-2004.
Not only is Moreno a solid rusher, but is a very good pass-catching back as well; in 2013, he had 60 catches for 548 yards and three touchdowns for Denver, which gave him over 1,300 yards total for a very potent Denver offense and his style could be a breath of fresh air for both the Giants and Moreno, who seemed to struggle to get off the ground until this season.
It's not clear what Moreno's demands will be coming off his best season, but with teams looking for a running back, he could draw decent interest from all over the league, but the Giants have a strong need given that Wilson could start the year on either partial-injured reserve or the Physically Unable to Perform list, Brown is a free agent and not guaranteed to be back and Brandon Jacobs retired, and so, the Giants could be one of the first teams with a phone call if Moreno doesn't return to Denver in 2014.