Washington Redskins: How Offseason Moves Affect Robert Griffin III

With the biggest splashes of free agency come and gone, the Washington Redskins can turn their attention to the upcoming draft. Smart additions from the open market have narrowed the draft focus and bring the big picture into focus for the Redskins.

Robert Griffin III figures to be a prominent part of that picture, and the recent signings and potential draft choices will affect his expectations for the 2015 season.

Washington focused primarily on defense with its free-agent signings, inking Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton and Stephen Paea to bolster the defensive line and adding Jeron Johnson and Chris Culliver to improve the secondary.

The emphasis on defense can’t possibly help RGIII very much if at all, right?

On the surface, no. Adding bodies on defense doesn’t help the 25-year-old learn and progress in Jay Gruden’s offense, nor does it improve the patchwork offensive line that made no major additions in the offseason.

Upon further review, with a better defense heading into the draft, the Redskins are likely to add at least one starting lineman to improve pass protection for Griffin.

Better defense means teams won’t jump out to early leads, thus forcing the Redskins offense to play catch-up. More stops by the defense means the offense has more opportunities.

Adding a starter on the offensive line would go a long way toward plugging a near-constant hole in the Redskins offense up front.

Too many times did we see Chris Chester blown up on an interior bull rush or the right tackle trio of Tyler Polumbus, Tom Compton and Morgan Moses made to look like turnstiles against speed-rushers.

Locking down the right side will help the offense run more smoothly, but more importantly, it is one less excuse Griffin would have for a poor performance in 2015.

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With a strengthened offensive line, the excuses of sacks and front-side pressure will be null and void, putting more responsibility on Griffin to improve and rely on instinct rather than athleticism.

Having already been named the starter by Coach Gruden when he talked to reporters at the combine, RGIII has his last chance to prove he is franchise quarterback material and his rookie season was more than a fluke or a flash in the pan.

The 2013 and 2014 seasons were not kind to Griffin, and it showed in fan reaction as well as his handling by the coaches and the media. Someone who was once seen as the savior of the destitute Redskins franchise had become a scapegoat and a symbol for everything wrong in Washington.

What is ignored in the blind bashing of a still-young quarterback is the injury he was still recovering from in 2013 that visibly affected his play and his confidence in his abilities, as well as the injury suffered early in 2014 that halted any progress he made in Gruden’s offense.

Upon his return, Griffin was rusty and looked lost in the offense. He was a step behind, a beat out of rhythm with his receivers and his throws.

This offseason, for better or for worse, has been an effort to create an environment for RGIII to succeed as the unquestioned starter at quarterback.

As far as free agency goes, the team has taken every effort to make sure the secondary doesn’t repeat as an Achilles' heel. The well-stocked pass rush was hurt by David Amerson and Ryan Clark failing miserably in coverage, giving up big plays and extending drives.

Veterans Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen spent much of the 2014 season hampered by injuries, and Washington released them to start the offseason.

Paea and Knighton are their younger, cheaper, more capable replacements to work with Chris Baker and Jason Hatcher and should go a long way toward helping outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan get to the quarterback.

As it stands, the remaining holes on defense are free safety and outside linebacker, where Brian Orakpo once was.

On offense, the biggest hole was and still is right tackle.

There is an abundance of weapons between DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon at receiver, Jordan Reed and Niles Paul at tight end, Darrel Young at fullback and Alfred Morris at running back.

The Redskins have the fifth overall pick and need only find a trading partner to net another early-round pick to give them no less than four selections with which to fill three positions on their roster.

Names like Brandon Scherff, Vic Beasley, Andrus Peat, Shane Ray, Dante Fowler and more are available just in the first round and would be instant starters at those positions.

Having added Culliver, who is likely to be a starter at cornerback, the Redskins have Amerson, Bashaud Breeland and DeAngelo Hall to work with in terms of depth.

Amerson regressed as a starter in 2014, which might have been a result of Clark being unreliable at free safety. Hall tore his Achilles and missed most of the season, which creates the potential for Hall to shift to free safety while Amerson battles it out with Breeland for the second starting spot.

The draft focus then narrows to outside linebacker and right tackle, both of which may be in abundance in the first two rounds of the draft.

To the point, everything the Redskins have done this offseason has been to stabilize their roster in order to create an ideal environment for Gruden and Griffin to achieve the success the former had with Andy Dalton in Cincinnati—and no one will argue that Dalton is anywhere near the physical specimen Griffin is.

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Ultimately, though, Griffin’s success depends on the work he puts in this offseason to make good on the Redskins believing he can be the starter.

He has already scheduled time to begin working with his receivers, which should help with chemistry and timing, both of which were sorely lacking in 2014.

On the flip side, with all the effort to make things perfect for Griffin, he is in a must-win situation.

Not that the Redskins need to go 13-3 to prove Griffin is the quarterback of the future. But they need to improve on the 4-12 mark from a year ago, and Griffin needs to look much better than he did during that stretch.

Rarely is an offseason about one player, and that isn’t to say everything the Redskins have done has been for Griffin. But general manager Scot McCloughan’s thus far deft handling of the offseason has made it so Griffin will have everything he needs to succeed in 2015.