One of the Washington Redskins' objectives prior to the 2013 NFL draft was to add depth to the secondary, and the team certainly did not disappoint—selecting cornerback David Amerson and safeties Philip Thomas and Bacarri Rambo.
To their credit, the Redskins did add a pass-catching tight end in the fourth round—Jordan Reed. In his final year at the University of Florida, he accounted for 45 catches for 559 yards.
Last season, Robert Griffin III finished the regular season with 20 passing touchdowns—tying him for 19th in the NFL. He ranked lower than Buffalo Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and Oakland Raiders QB Carson Palmer, who combined for 10 wins for their teams.
It is worth noting the Redskins were the only team in the NFL that had four wide receivers to each have more than 500 yards receiving during the regular season. The team was led by Pierre Garcon, who played in only 10 games due to injury and finished with 633 receiving yards.
In the 10 games Garcon played, the Redskins won nine. He finished the 2012 regular season ranked 69th among NFL receivers in yards, followed by teammate Santana Moss (76th), Leonard Hankerson (84th) and Josh Morgan (92nd).
As a team, the Redskins also finished 20th in the NFL in passing yards per game average—214. The team's average was 98 yards behind the top-ranked New Orleans Saints.
The team certainly did not address the topic of adding depth at the wide receiver position during the draft, nor the other buzz-phrase head coach Mike Shanahan uses in many of his interviews—having a younger team.
Moss enters his 12th season in the NFL and joined the Redskins in 2005, his finest year with the team as he was named to the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro selection that year. At 33, he is one of eight players on the Redskins' current roster in their 30s, according to the team's official website Redskins.com.
He also led all Redskins receivers with eight touchdowns last season. Garcon and Morgan accounted for five each, and Hankerson had two.
The Redskins should have added some youth and depth at the wide receiver position during the offseason—whether through the draft or during free agency. If anyone suggests it's a money issue, consider the following.
According to Spotrac.com, Garcon will be the top-paid Redskins player for the 2013-14 season, earning $8.2 million. Among the team's other receivers, Morgan will earn $5.1 million, Moss' earnings will be $4.167 million and Hankerson $731,000.
If the Redskins are to improve on their 20th-ranked net passing yards of 2012, and RG3's ranking among quarterbacks, they need to improve their receivers or at least get a solid return on their investment.
Follow on Twitter @JohnBibb and view previous Bleacher Report articles I have written on the Washington Redskins here.
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