REDSKINS: WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

The Redskins started the bumbling duo of Rex Grossman and
John Beck in 2012, meaning they will spend this offseason
scrambling to find a franchise quarterback to lead this team.

The Redskins beat the Super Bowl championship New York Giants twice last season, but that was about the only good thing you could say about Washington in 2011. Head coach Mike Shanahan said he would bet his career on getting production out of Rex Grossman or John Beck, and that blew up in his face big time.

Clearly the Redskins' top priority this offseason is finding a franchise quarterback, but they have so many issues all over their roster that this is a team that is not likely to have a huge turn around, unless they land a fully healthy Peyton Manning in free agency along with some other big name free agents.

The only good thing to say about the Redskins’ roster is that they have two young and extremely talented rush outside linebackers for their 3-4 defense in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. Every single other position on this team is at least sub par. So let’s get into specifically what they should be looking to accomplish in 2012.

Free Agency:

Will we see Peyton Manning in a Redskins jersey in 2012?
Sorry 'Skins fans, but that will only be a reality in Madden.

Peyton Manning has been mentioned often when it comes to the Redskins, but I just cannot see this happening for a lot of reasons. Reason one is that Shanahan has a very specific type of quarterback that he looks for to run his offense and Manning does not fit the mold. Shanahan likes athletic quarterbacks that can move outside of the pocket and make plays with his feet. Manning was one of the most immobile quarterbacks in the league before he had to have three extremely serious neck surgeries. While this might not deter them from going after Peyton, it might deter them from giving him as large of a contract as he could get elsewhere.

Secondly, for a team that is so far away from being a championship contender, what is the point in paying a guy who is past his prime and has little to no hope of even taking this team to the playoffs. Also, Manning looks to have many suitors so why would he choose a team that has almost no offensive weapons and a weak offensive line? Also, there is no way that Peyton wants to play his little brother twice a year, so let's move on and say this isn’t happening.

For both of those reasons, signing a guy like Matt Flynn makes a lot of sense for the Redskins. He is a very mobile quarterback, in a similar mold as former teammate Aaron Rodgers, and is a surprisingly accurate passer, which is very important for Shanahan’s West Coast Offense. He is also ten years younger than Manning, which is a big positive for a rebuilding franchise. Whether or not Flynn wants to go there, or if the Redskins can pay him the type of money he could make elsewhere, is another story.

Flynn makes a lot of sense for the Redskins and Flynn would be lucky to have such a talented coach as Shanahan grooming him, but it still seems like a long shot considering teams like the Dolphins and Seahawks could probably pay him more money, and Flynn would have much more talent around him in those places.

The Redskins will push very hard to get receiver Vincent
Jackson on their roster in 2012 and knowing owner Dan
Snyder, Washington will shell out top dollar to land him.

Saying all of that, I think the Redskins main target in free agency will be wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Considering they started Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney last season, who will be 33 and 31 respectively at the start of next season, this is a huge area of weakness for this team. Jackson is the type of big, fast receiver that Shanahan loves, much like he had with Brandon Marshall in Denver, but he does have a lot of character concerns that they will have to be wary of before signing him to a huge contract.

Jackson is one of the best receivers in the NFL when he puts in 100%, but his work ethic is a big concern. The Redskins have to ask themselves if they really think he will still play his heart out once he has $20 million plus in guaranteed money. The Redskins will most likely end up with Jackson on their roster in 2012, but whether or not he becomes a productive member of the organization is a different question. I sure hope he does because he is one of the most exciting receivers in the NFL to watch.

The only two big name free agents the Redskins have are 36 year old linebacker London Fletcher and the incredibly talented yet extremely injury prone safety LaRon Landry. Fletcher will probably get a one year deal and remain with the team, as he should since he is a team leader and this team needs as much solid leadership as humanly possible. That leaves Landry.

With the Titans’ Michael Griffin, the Raiders’ Tyvon Branch, and the 49ers’ Dashon Goldson all getting the franchise tag, Landry is the best safety in this free agent class. With a premium put on safeties in recent years, considering how versatile they have to be to play the run and the pass, Landry could get a fairly large contract elsewhere. That would leave the Redskins extremely thin at safety.

The incoming rookie draft class does not have much depth at safety, so the Redskins might have a hard time addressing that need through the draft, especially since everyone expects them to address the offense in the first round. The Redskins need to find a way to keep Landry on this team, but I think they are going to lose him to a team that is going to give him a contract that is out of their price range.

Overview: The Redskins should not waste their time and effort on Peyton Manning and get a head start over other teams by being the first to bring in Matt Flynn. Hopefully, the Redskins have already done their homework on Vincent Jackson and have a ballpark idea of how much they are willing to pay him, which knowing the Redskins will probably be more than any other team. If they can add Flynn and Jackson, this offense could quickly make a huge turn around in 2012. On the defensive side of the ball, they need to try to keep Landry or at least find one safety to replace him. There are a lot of solid corners on the market as well and pairing one of them with DeAngelo Hall could help this defense get in the top 10 statistically.

The Draft:

Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III seems to be the best fit
for leading the Redskins in 2012 and beyond, but they will have
to find a way to outbid other teams for the second overall pick.

If the Redskins lose out on Flynn and Manning, they have to find a way to beat out the Browns to land Robert Griffin. I strongly believe that Griffin is a significantly better prospect than Cam Newton was last season, who went number one overall to the Panthers, and he even grades out better than other mobile quarterbacks taken in the top of the draft such as Michael Vick (first overall to the Falcons) and Vince Young (third overall to the Titans).

Not only is Griffin equally as athletically gifted as all three of those quarterbacks, but he is also a much more polished passer than any of them were coming into the league. Like I said earlier, Shanahan likes mobile, accurate passers, and Griffin is just that. Through the first three of Baylor’s games last season, Griffin had more touchdowns (13) than incompletion (12). Those are absolutely absurd numbers, and he did it on a team with very little talent around him.

Griffin seems to be the best fit for the Redskins, over both Flynn and Manning. I think if they miss out on drafting Griffin, this franchise will regret it for years. Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill would definitely be an option for them if they stick with the sixth overall pick, but that might be too high for him. Unfortunately, the Redskins probably cannot trade down and still land him either because the Dolphins (8^th pick) and the Seahawks (12^th pick) are both strong candidates to land Tannehill should he fall that far.

The rest of their draft will be finding depth at receiver and both the offensive and defensive lines. Luckily all three of those positions are very deep this year, so they could find some real deals in the later rounds after trading away their high picks to get Griffin.

Overview: The Redskins’ draft will entirely depend on whether or not they land Manning or Flynn in free agency. If they do not, they will have to draft either Griffin or Tannehill. If they land Flynn, then they would be wise to try to grab a tackle like Riley Reiff to pair with Trent Williams or trade down to get more picks. Even if they land Vincent Jackson, I could see the Redskins taking another receiver rather high in the draft as well. They will also be looking to find help at corner and safety, but if they trade up to land Griffin, they will not have many picks this year to fill out the depth on this roster.