Jake Carlisle and Stewart Crameri both made their AFL debuts in the Bombers' heavy defeat against the premiership favourite and Knights said the duo would learn plenty.
"I'm endeavouring to find out who's going to help the Essendon Football Club and take the Essendon Football Club into the future," he said.
"You've got to play guys that you think have got the talent and the constitution to do that, and if they're a bit younger, so be it.
"I would have thought Jake Carlisle and Stewart Crameri would have come away from that with how hard they have to train now and how hard they have to work in the off-season to keep building their football."
"I would have thought it would be an amazing opportunity, albeit we came up a long way short."
Knights conceded his side was simply outclassed by a Collingwood outfit that appears primed for a serious tilt at its first flag since 1990.
"The lesson from tonight is just to watch a well-oiled machine who are just super fit, super strong, who have been building for probably four or five years go about their work. That was just an awesome football team," he said.
"We just played a team tonight that just had us covered in every area you could imagine."
Surprisingly, the Bombers won the clearances overall but Knights said his young side struggled to match the Magpies once the ball was clear of midfield congestion.
"Considering the midfield experience of our group, it was a real plus," he said.
"I would say, however, once we got out of those stoppages, our effective ball use was a lot lower than what Collingwood's was."
