Robert Griffin III: NFL Draft Star Gives Redskins a Legitimate Shot at Playoffs

It's not every year that a team goes from picking second in the NFL Draft to competing for the playoffs...but it's surprisingly close. The 2005 Miami Dolphins, the 2006 New Orleans Saints, the 2010 Detroit Lions and the 2011 Denver Broncos all either reached the postseason or came within sniffing distance of doing so mere months after being the second team up to the podium that spring.

The Washington Redskins may well join that exclusive club in 2012, thanks in no small part to the addition of Robert Griffin III.

As it stands, the 'Skins have a roster that's capable of winning games from the get-go this coming season. Their pass defense has the potential to be among the 10 best in football after turning in the ninth-best sack rate and ranking as the ninth-most consistent unit, according to Football Outsiders.

That improvement had everything to do with the 2011 additions of Barry Cofield and Ryan Kerrigan through free agency and the draft, respectively.

Few would mistake DC's offense for a juggernaut of any sort, though the offensive line is surprisingly solid, and the additions of Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan should help to solidify a rather thin corps of wide receivers.

As for RGIII, he'll be hard-pressed to be a superstar at quarterback from day one, though he still has the tools, the maturity, the discipline and the intelligence to make plays in Mike Shanahan's offense, especially given his proficiency on bootleg plays. He'll be an upgrade over Rex Grossman and John Beck, at the very least.

That change could be monumental for a team that twice defeated the Super Bowl champion New York Giants and lost six games by single-digit margins on the way to a 5-11 record last season.

It should help, too, that the 'Skins have one of the easiest schedules in 2012, based on the 2011 records of their upcoming opponents.

Of course, putting Washington in the conversation with those other "second-to-success" squads isn't exactly fair. Those other teams wound up with the No. 2 pick purely by virtue of their own mediocrity, while the Redskins had to ship a boatload of draft picks to St. Louis to move up from No. 6.

Still, don't be surprised if Washington makes a serious push for the playoffs in year three of the Shanahan regime. They have the veteran players, the impetus (Mike Shanahan could be out if his team fails to improve) and, soon, the young quarterback to rock the gridiron this fall.

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