By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

INDIANAPOLIS – The Washington Redskins need a quarterback. That much is known. Whether or not they’ll find their guy at this week’s NFL Combine is uncertain.

There have been significant connections between the Redskins and Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Baylor, over the past several months, and those making the decisions with the team do like what they see. Griffin is perhaps one of the most exciting young players in football, but with the Redskins owning the No. 6 pick in April’s NFL Draft, Cleveland owning the No. 4 pick and both teams having their eyes on a quarterback, much uncertainty still exists on who ends up where.

That’s what an event like this is for. Coaches and other team evaluators will spend the better part of the next seven days interviewing players, breaking down their histories and evaluating their physical abilities, helping them gain a clearer picture of what they want and don’t want. Who knows? Perhaps either the Redskins or Browns see something in Griffin they don’t like and choose to pass. Or, conversely, maybe head coach Mike Shanahan and those with the Redskins decide they like someone – Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M, or Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State, for example – who fits the offense better and will cost less.

Quarterback aside, the Redskins have many other needs – though none as pressing. Free agency, which begins March 13, will also greatly skew what happens with the draft and where needs may be. But here are a few of the other positions they’re likely to have a closer eye on as the week unfolds:

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Under Contract: Trent Williams, Jammal Brown, Willie Smith
Need: High
Reasoning: The Redskins grabbed Trent Williams with the No. 4 overall pick in 2010 – Shanahan’s first draft with the team. Williams, the left tackle, improved tremendously this past season after an up-and-down rookie year and should continue to develop. But the concern is on the right side of the line, and Brown, who has been injured for a significant portion of the past three seasons, has lost some of the quickness and mobility that’s required at the position. Smith, an undrafted rookie last season, likely isn’t the long-term solution.
Potential Available Targets: One of the three elite tackles – USC’s Matt Kalil, Ohio State’s Mike Adams and Iowa’s Riley Reiff – are only in play at No. 6 if the Redskins don’t take a quarterback. Instead, someone like Jonathan Martin, who protected likely No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck’s blind side at Stanford, could be in play early in the second round.

WIDE RECEIVER
Under Contract: Leonard Hankerson, Anthony Armstrong
Need: High
Reasoning: Washington doesn’t simply need a wide receiver. It has plenty – Jabar Gaffney and Santana Moss also amongst them – but it needs a playmaker. The Redskins were hamstrung by the lack of a true vertical threat last season, especially with Armstrong ineffective after what appeared to be a breakout season in 2010 and Hankerson tearing the labrum in his right hip midway through the season in his only extended run. Both are options, but a tall, quick, instinctive receiver is a true need. One variable: The free agent class of receivers is remarkably deep and the good ones are proven.
Potential Available Targets: If the Redskins look at receiver with No. 6 overall, Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon – perhaps the best playmaker of them all – could still be there. It’s unlikely they’ll use that high a pick on a receiver, but maybe a guy like Louisiana State’s Rueben Randle could be an option in the second or third round.

SAFETY
Under Contract: Oshiomogho Atogwe, Reed Doughty, DeJon Gomes
Need: High
Reasoning: The need for safeties is great simply because the Redskins need two of them, with LaRon Landry an unrestricted free agent and Atogwe, because of injury, not living up to the demands of the five-year, $26 million contract he signed before last season. It’s entirely possible the Redskins go the free agent route for one safety and with a rookie for the other.
Potential Available Targets: It depends on what happens with Landry, who could return on his terms or could be given the franchise tag and a one-year, prove-it-or-lose-it contract. The pool of strong safeties is limited in this draft, though the Redskins’ defensive requirements don’t particularly place any specific differentiation between free and strong safety. Janzen Jackson, of McNeese State, could be the type of guy the team looks for – quick and hard-hitting – but he was dismissed from Tennessee and exhibits character concerns Washington is trying to avoid.

CORNERBACK
Under Contract: DeAngelo Hall, Josh Wilson, Kevin Barnes, Brandyn Thompson
Need: Medium
Reasoning: Washington would be completely fine proceeding through the 2012 season with Hall and Wilson as its starting cornerbacks yet again, but an upgrade over Barnes at nickelback is entirely possible. Hall, about to enter his ninth season, had so many breakdowns in crucial points this past year that the end could be very near.
Potential Available Targets: Any potential selection isn’t likely until the third, fourth or fifth rounds. Virginia Tech’s Jayron Hosley – quick and natural in zone coverage and able to handle the slot – is the type of guy who would make sense in that range.

CENTER
Under Contract: Erik Cook
Need: Low
Reasoning: Will Montgomery, the Redskins’ starter at the position this past season, is a free agent. He’s not likely to command a high salary on the open market – it’s unsure if the he even tests it, given that he grew up in Fairfax County and went to Virginia Tech – and Washington has more pressing needs.
Potential Available Targets: Uncertain. Only six collegiate centers were invited to the NFL Combine. The top two – Georgia’s Ben Jones and Wisconsin’s Peter Konz – will likely be gone by the time Washington would consider this need. Cook, set to enter his third year, was taken in the seventh round himself, and why waste another late-round pick on a center?