Robert Griffin III on what his former team, Washington, needs

Feb. 2, 2026, 9:17 a.m. ET

Robert Griffin III never truly lived up to the hype that accompanies being the #2 overall pick in the NFL Draft (2012). The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner got off to a very strong start, in his NFL career, as he won the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. However, injuries nagged him his entire career, and eventually, his inability to stay healthy diminished his effectiveness, and by 2020 he was out of football.

Overall, his career numbers (9,275 passing yards, passer rating of 86.5, 43 TDs against 30 INTs, are not spectacular, but they’re solid. Since hanging up his cleats, he’s become a very color commentator, and his announcing work has drawn a lot of praise. Griffin was absolutely spot on in the way he called out the College Football Playoff selection committee’s “SEC bias,” when they included Alabama in the field.

Washington is where he spent most of his playing career, but he did also play a couple years in Baltimore while having a proverbial cup of coffee with Cleveland in between.

RG3 was recently asked about path his main former team should take in their inevitable reset. The 35-year-old NFL pundit thinks DC should focus on gettine the pieces that complement their franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels. Beyond that, Griffin believes the Commanders should focus on adding more speed at both wide receiver, and on the defense, generally.

“Get younger on defense, and then get more dynamic playmakers on the offensive side,” Griffin responded, in an exclusive with RG.org, when asked what Washington should do come April.

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“I would add a big-time receiver early in the draft. Add a running back that you know can be a three down guy. I love Jacory Croskey-Merritt, but I think the more you can add to that room, the more dynamic they will be, and then continue to add those protection pieces in front of them.”

The Commanders are first on the clock at #7 overall. In this site’s latest mock draft, we have them selecting edge rusher David Bailey, of Texas Tech. While Washington doesn’t have a second round pick this year, they have pick #71 overall in the third round and #145 in the fifth round.

Additionally, Washington has also picks #185, #196 and #223 in the 2026 draft.