Washington Redskins: Free-Agent Signings Point to Offensive Line in Draft

The Washington Redskins have used the majority of this offseason to focus on revamping their secondary. Gone are both starting safeties from a year ago, Laron Landry and Oshiomogho Atogwe. The Redskins have signed former Maryland Terrapin Madieu Williams to go along with the other secondary signing of Leigh Torrence.

Earlier in the offseason, the Redskins signed cornerback Cedric Griffin. The Redskins defense made leaps and bounds side a year ago and now look to take another leap to the upper echelon of defenses in the NFL.

Now what do all of these defensive signings mean? The short-term answer points to the draft, which is rapidly approaching (15 days away). All of the secondary moves that the Redskins have made point to the focus surely to be on the offensive side of the ball, mainly the offensive line. We all know that with the No. 2 overall pick, the Redskins are going to draft a quarterback, either Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck. We also know that the Redskins, no matter who the quarterback is, will be excited.

The Redskins will be without a pick in the second round, so they will have to wait until Round 3 to address another area of need: offensive line.

The Redskins have to be able to add a quality lineman with their third-round pick. We’ve heard a lot of buzz surrounding the Oklahoma tackle, Donald Stephenson, being in the mix for the Redskins. Stephenson reportedly visited Redskins Park today and could prove to be a viable contingency plan for the oft-injured Jammal Brown, who is recovering from hip surgery this offseason.

It’s no secret that one of the most important units on the field is the offensive line. When you look at teams that are contending for playoff spots in December and Super Bowls in the playoffs, it is usually teams that are strong up front. Before Mike Shanahan got here, the Redskins were routinely failing to get it done late in the season, in part because of poor line play. To buck that trend, the Redskins must get some quality depth on the offensive line.

That is why the Stephenson talk is so intriguing. He does not have to start from day one, but it would be nice just to have some quality depth. We have heard Mike Shanahan lament the point of getting this organization quality depth at every position.

With the arrival of a brand-new quarterback, getting him the protection he needs to be successful should be the Redskins top priority as we head to draft night.