Washington Redskins Training Camp: Week 2 Stock Report

Some solid work from Robert Griffin III, along with Pierre Garcon reminding everyone he's still a pretty big weapon in this offense, have been the highlights of Week 2 of training camp for the Washington Redskins.

In DeSean Jackson's injury-induced absence, Griffin and Garcon have re-established the connection that made the latter a franchise record breaker in 2013. Not surprisingly, quarterback-friendly target Garcon has helped Griffin look particularly sharp during the last two practice sessions.

But while things are looking good for a pair of significant skill players, two of Washington's prominent rookies are struggling. Both are ticketed for key roles this season so their stunted progress rates as a concern.

Read on for a more in-depth stock-up, stock-down report from the second week of camp, as Washington's preseason debut against the Cleveland Browns looms large.

Stock Up: Pierre Garcon, WR

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Since Jackson's arrival in D.C., it seems like Garcon has steadily been pushed aside. Sure, he still led the Redskins in catches in 2014 but rarely looked like the same dynamic target he'd been the previous two seasons.

The idea is for all that to change this year. Garcon will be a bigger part of the offense, according to Rich Tandler of Real Redskins. Based on his showing at camp, Garcon will certainly merit the extra attention.

On Monday and Tuesday, he consistently got open and snagged throws from Griffin. ESPN.com's John Keim detailed how well the combination worked on Day 12:

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He led Garcon on the 15-yard throw, hitting him in stride as he turned up the field.

In 7-on-7 work, Griffin and Garcon teamed up again. Garcon ran a deep post, Griffin looked left, turned back, reset his feet and threw a perfect ball. Garcon ran past safety Dashon Goldson and caught the ball in stride.

...

Griffin and Garcon hooked up one last time as the receiver made a nice grab of a throw below the knees.

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The last line is a great illustration of what Garcon means for the passing game and Griffin's development. He's a great confidence-builder because he has a knack for turning poor throws into completions and big plays.

No quarterback delivers a tight spiral between the numbers on every throw. Griffin certainly doesn't. But improving his accuracy is going to be a process.

Any steps forward he takes can't be derailed by losing his swagger every time he sails one into the dirt. Garcon will turn more than a few of the dirt balls and those aimed for the clouds into catches.

I also really like the variety in the plays Keim described. The 15-yarder he led with came on a "crosser vs. DeAngelo Hall." That's a staple route for a receiver as tough and savvy over the middle as Garcon.

Following it up with a deep ball only emphasizes a side of his game that's been overshadowed since Jackson came to Redskins Park. With Jackson nursing his shoulder injury, Garcon was afforded more chances to get vertical, chances he took on Tuesday, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post:

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No DeSean Jackson means more deep-ball opportunities for Pierre Garcon, and he and Griffin have their timing down. Those two connected again today for a long touchdown pass against a starting defensive player. Today it was Duke Ihenacho that Garcon burned to catch a 50-yard pass from Griffin over his shoulder just before he crossed the goal line.

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Of course, this production is also a reminder of what life was like for Garcon pre-Jackson, that time period when No. 88 was the undisputed focal point of this passing game.

You have to assume Garcon would not have been targeted so often, even in a camp walk-through had Jackson been active. That's a balance head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay have to strike this season.

As a big-bodied, Velcro-handed receiver who gets open on any route, Garcon has a crucial role to play in making RG3 a better quarterback. So let's have more pages in the playbook dedicated to the former Mount Union sensation.

Stock Up: Niles Paul, TE

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Garcon isn't the only weapon Griffin will be counting on once the games count. When your head coach names you the starter at your position, you know your stock is on the rise.

Niles Paul knows it after Gruden designated him Washington's No. 1 tight end for 2015. Gruden sees Paul as a more "complete" option for his team's pro-personnel sets on offense, according to Jones, writing for the Post:

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I think Niles Paul is probably a little bit more of a complete [tight end] when you are talking about blocking also – when you are talking about your base offense where you go one fullback, one running back and one tight end where the running game and pass blocking is very important for that guy. Niles has emerged as the starter.

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Not only is this ample reward for Paul, who posted career-best marks for catches and yards in 2014. It's also a clearer reflection of what Gruden wants from the position.

During his time as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, Gruden the younger often favored bulky tight ends who could effectively supplement the O-line in blocking situations.

In 2013, his final year in Cincy, Gruden relied on 6'5", 260-pounder Jermaine Gresham, 6'6", 250-pounder Tyler Eifert and 6'3", 254-pounder Orson Charles. It's fair to say the Redskins have lacked this kind of size at the tight end position for years.

But Paul has made an effort to change that this offseason. He's added pounds to his frame, "pushing his weight to 250 pounds," per Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.

Boyer also quotes tight ends coach Wes Phillips praising Paul's application to every aspect of his position this offseason: “He’s very confident right now in his abilities to do, really, anything we ask him to do — and that’s blocking, pass protection and making plays in the passing game.”

Competent blocking from the tight end position is likely to be important in this season's offense. New line coach Bill Callahan loves to stack fronts in the running game by overloading sides with tight ends who can drive defenders off the ball.

Paul's been working a lot with Logan Paulsen, the only player close to a natural blocker on the depth chart, in two-tight end sets during the offseason, according to Boyer. With the Redskins planning to feature the running game more often, a beefier Paul makes more sense as the team's starter than the ultra-dynamic but made-of-glass Jordan Reed.

Stock Down: Preston Smith, DE/OLB

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When it comes to creating pressure as a 3-4 outside linebacker, Preston Smith just isn't getting it. The team's second-round pick continues to display middling athletic range and initial quickness off the edge.

Keim has described how Smith seems to be struggling to play fast:

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He’s clearly adjusting to the NFL and playing outside linebacker. He's also trying to get used to the speed he must rush with as his moves have been slower. He isn't the sort of player who will just run past guys to win.

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A naturally quick first step is a must for winning from a two-point stance off the corner. It's tough to see how that can be taught to the former Mississippi State standout.

The fact the Redskins pounced quickly on ex-New Orleans Saints edge-rushing misfit Junior Galette spoke volumes about Smith's lack of progress this offseason. A lack of acceleration and agility are holding him back.

They are also adding credence to B/R analyst Michael Felder's view Smith is not an edge player but rather a true defensive end. Felder made that assertion soon after Smith was selected.

At least that view keeps Smith in a three-point stance. That's where Jones sees some small signs of encouragement, per the Post: "During nickel packages, when he rushes out of a three-point stance, he has done a little better. But he still has to get stronger."

Jones had noted how Smith had recently failed to get by backup tackles Ty Nsekhe and Tom Compton as an edge-rusher. What Smith's problems reveal is just how raw a prospect he is.

The Redskins used a second-round pick on a player they are going to have to mold from the feet up if they expect him to be an outside linebacker. Using such a prominent choice on an obvious project looks like a more than dubious decision at this point.

Washington's defense needs to take major step forward when it comes to creating pressure. Last season's unit registered a mere 36 sacks. While this year's group has been refreshed with new personnel up front, a consistent force on the edge who can support Galette and star man Ryan Kerrigan still needs to emerge.

At the moment, Smith looks a million miles away from being that player.

Stock Down: Brandon Scherff, G

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Brandon Scherff couldn't cut it at right tackle, so he's been shifted inside to guard. It may be the spot he should have began life with the Redskins in, but a position switch is still an inauspicious start for the draft's fifth overall pick.

Scherff has been moved because of struggles in pass protection. That has to be a worry for a team that originally intended to have the player who was collegiate football's best O-lineman in 2014 line up at right tackle.

Writing for the Post, Jones noted how Scherff's continued struggles on the edge made that plan an impossibility:

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I think the Redskins did believe he had the ability to play tackle. But through the first week of camp, Scherff was still getting beaten pretty handily by Ryan Kerrigan on pass-rushing drills where Kerrigan went with speed rushes. Scherff for the most part held his own against Kerrigan on bull rushes. But out there on the edge, when dealing with countermoves, his reaction time was a bit slow.

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But moving inside won't protect Scherff if pass protection remains the bane of his game. He's still going to face his share of premier defensive tackles this season.

In the first two weeks of the season alone, Scherff is scheduled to encounter Ndamukong Suh of the Miami Dolphins and young St. Louis Rams star Aaron Donald. Both players are equally, if not more, defined by their ability to collapse the pass pocket as they are for stuffing the run.

What playing in a tighter space will do is give Scherff a better chance of clamping his hands on his opponents sooner. It should also mitigate how often he has to turn and shift his feet in space, things that get him into trouble on the edge.

If Scherff makes the grade at guard, a distinct possibility given his predraft projections, this move will look like an inspired one. Then Scherff's status as new general manager Scot McCloughan's top draft pick will also be justified.

At the moment though, all of that is far from a guarantee. Instead, Scherff moving inside not only casts a shadow on his development, it also does the same for the whole of the right side.

In the new plan, Morgan Moses is taking over at right tackle. A third-round pick a year ago hit by injuries and poor performances, Moses is now being counted on at a critical position.

It's something CSN Washington's JP Finlay rightly rates as a concern ahead of the new season: "But counting on two players with a combined one NFL start to hold down the right side of the line seems a bit precarious with quarterback Robert Griffin III in the backfield."

Keeping both players healthy enough to make full use of the preseason will be an obvious key to their developing partnership. Unfortunately, Scherff limped out of practice recently with an ankle problem, although he did return to watch the remainder of the session, according to Jones.

The next month will be vital for a player who already has plenty to prove.

Stock Up: Robert Griffin III, QB

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No, your eyes have not deceived you. There's actually some praise for the Griff coming your way. And there's very few caveats to it, as well.

The closest to a watered-down version of praise for Griffin's recent performances comes from Tandler's Real Redskins column. He called the most recent session a good day "with an asterisk."

Here's Tandler's explanation: "Robert Griffin III was about as sharp as he has been all summer, completing seven of seven passes in 11 on 11 work. It should be noted that since they were not wearing pads they were not going at full speed. Still, the Redskins have run practices at similar speeds during this camp and Griffin has not been as sharp."

Meanwhile, Keim also noted some positive moments from No. 10: "In some cases, his accuracy was terrific; in others, not so much." Griffin also put in some post-practice work with his father, RG II.

Staying behind after school to get better is necessary work for Washington's starting quarterback. Keim called it a regular thing, which is an encouraging sign Griffin is seriously committing to refining his game.

The fact that work is showing with some sharper throws that are actually leading receivers into yards after the catch is an even bigger positive. Griffin has always been a strange fish in the sense he can look electric when playing off instinct but is lost when he has to think.

It's a strange dichotomy because slowing down the game can make it easier for the former Heisman Trophy winner to see the whole field and read defenses. Yet slowing things down is often how opposing teams have caught him out of his comfort zone.

The best way to strike the balance is to load the playbook with concepts that create easy throws off quick reads. Then smarter, faster decisions will eventually become second nature for Washington's troubled poster boy under center.

Based on the confidence he's shown to attack different levels of the defense this week, Griffin may finally be taking a step or two in the right direction. The trick now will be to keep the signs of progress going, turning into momentum, rather than yet another false dawn.

Offensively, the Redskins are looking sharp as they get ready for the Browns. It will be fascinating to see how the veterans fare early on against a pretty good defense.