Why the Washington Redskins Absolutely Must Retain Roy Helu

Alfred Morris is the workhorse of the Washington Redskins backfield, and as overshadowed as he is by flashier running backs, so too is his backup, Roy Helu.

Helu is slated to be a free agent this offseason and could easily land a larger role elsewhere. And the Redskins absolutely must re-sign him for the future.

Even in the progressively pass-heavy NFL, there is always room for a running back with soft hands who can do the job on the ground and out of the backfield. Morris churns out the yards on the ground but doesn't get a ton of opportunities as a receiver.

Helu had just 82 touches in 2014 and managed to score on just three of those opportunities. However, he averaged 11.4 yards per catch and 5.4 yards per carry.

In fact, he finished the season tied with Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell for the most receptions of 20-plus yards with 10. Bell had 83 receptions compared to Helu's 42.

He finished tied for 15th in total yards after the catch with 459 and had the fifth-most yards after the catch among running backs, behind the likes of Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray, Fred Jackson and Bell, all of whom were starters.

And as much credit as he deserves for his work as a receiver, he's just as dangerous carrying the football. For his career, Helu has averaged 4.4 yards per carry and has shown he can be both a third-down back and a workhorse.

Against Chicago in 2013, Helu carried the ball 11 times for a hard-fought 41 yards and three scores. As a rookie in 2011, he became the starting running back late in the season and put together three consecutive 100-yard games.

During that stretch, he recorded 73 carries and averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

The numbers show Helu's ability to produce with or without an abundance of touches, which makes him an invaluable asset for a Washington offense that needs as many playmakers as it can get.

Some may argue that running backs are a dime a dozen, and to an extent that is true. But it isn't likely that anyone the Redskins draft or sign would be able to replicate Helu's production or provide the boost that he does whenever he is on the field.

The 2014 season was merely a sampling of the roll he can carve out with his skill set, which would expand greatly if he was re-signed for 2015 and beyond.

While his early career might have been chalked up to the success most running backs have in Mike Shanahan's system, he continued to develop and even came back from an injury plagued 2012 season to be even better.

Helu has good size at 5'11" and 200 pounds. What he lacks in blazing speed or outright power, he makes up for by being a balanced back who can fight through contact for extra yards, get to the edge on a stretch run, make guys miss in the open field and leap over tacklers aiming for his legs.

He is capable of being a starter in the NFL, and it's for precisely that reason that the Redskins need to keep him on the roster.

In Cincinnati, Gruden ran BenJarvus Green Ellis more than Giovani Bernard, but Bernard finished 2013 with 56 receptions to go along with a substantial amount of carries for a rookie.

That is the role Helu can have for the Redskins—someone to split the responsibilities without compromising the production of the starting running back.

He can take the pressure off of Morris, who has absorbed 876 carries worth of punishment in three seasons, while helping out as a screen option and a receiver out of the backfield for whichever quarterback wins the job in 2015.

Letting Helu walk in free agency would put the Redskins down one more player who can help their cause; the last thing they can afford to have is more needs. He's young, doesn't have a ton of wear on his body and has proved he can do whatever is asked of him.

Helu isn't the sort of player you simply let hit the open market without fighting to keep him.