The Washington Redskins have a new general manager and he could put his stamp on the team if they draft Marcus Mariota, but with Robert Griffin III the likely starter for Jay Gruden, the team may look at other options, as names like Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Breshad Perriman, DeVante Parker and Jaelen Strong could be potential targets for RG3.
The Redskins have the number five pick in the draft and that gives the team ample opportunity to add a playmaker. Todd McShay and others speculate that the Redskins could draft a defensive player like Dante Fowler, but others have predicted Kevin White or another receiver, including John Keim at ESPN. According to Redskins.com, White is a prime draft target and he could provide a strong slot presence alongside DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon for RG3.
Marcus Mariota remains a target for the Redskins and John Clayton at ESPN.com writes that the team could consider him at the number five pick or look at trading up to get him. According to Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, the interest in Mariota is simply to generate trade interest with teams if he falls to five. Scot McCloughan has a strong draft track record in San Francisco and while RG3 is a great talent, if McCloughan likes Mariota, he will go after him.
White is a very intriguing option, as he has great speed after running a 4.35 40-yard dash and he put up great numbers at West Virginia. Last season White had over 100 catches with 10 touchdowns and he could fit in well with Gruden's offense. Another name to watch if the Redskins trade back is Perriman, as he also has great speed and showed that off in his pro day. Perriman is moving up draft boards and after putting up 50 catches for over 1000 yards last season and 16 touchdowns in 39 games at UCF, he also could be a target.
The Redskins finished in the bottom of the NFC East again last season and now they come back after RG3 had struggles while dealing with injuries in 2014. According to ESPN.com, Jay Gruden said that Griffin is the starter "for now" and he was named the starter earlier in the offseason, which some Washington beat writers questioned. Griffin has been written about quite a bit along with his ego issues and Gruden naming a starter so early could have been a way to deflect all of that.
The Redskins have been mostly a mess the past five years and apart from Griffin's rookie season, he has been very inconsistent. Gruden may want a different quarterback in the mix and this comes as RG3 is coming up to an important deadline. The team has to decide on picking up his fifth year option and if that doesn't happen, it will only fuel speculation about his future in DC. The team brought back Colt McCoy and they already have Kirk Cousins, but he may be used as trade bait this season.
