Signing Chris Culliver wisely gave the cornerback rotation a big-bodied cover man, but the position still needs more.

Antoine Cason is an option Washington should consider. At 6’1″ and 195 pounds, he has the size McCloughan covets on the edges of the secondary.

Cason plays to that size, often adopting, an aggressive, grabby style of coverage. He will take chances at times, and the risks don’t always pay off. But Cason is never afraid to challenge receivers or gamble to produce a big play.

Bringing him to D.C. would give defensive coordinator Joe Barry and secondary coach Perry Fewell a lot of options. Cason has the size to play the slot, but he can also work the edge on either side of the field.

If he did the latter for Washington, the Redskins could move one of Culliver or fellow prospective starter Bashaud Breeland inside. Yet if he stays in the slot, Cason would provide a solution at a key position that’s been lacking in recent years.

There’s volume at cornerback, but the quality is dubious. David Amerson has not progressed since entering the league as the team’s top draft pick in 2013. Meanwhile, veterans Tracy Porter and DeAngelo Hall have both faced major injury issues.

Another reliable corner would certainly be welcome, and there isn’t a better choice on the market than Cason. 

Finding a versatile running back with receiving and return skills this late in the process would represent tremendous business. The Redskins can acquire those qualities if they take a chance on Joe McKnight.

A ruptured Achilles ruled him out last season after just three games. The last of those games featured a career-best performance from the 26-year-old.

McKnight caught a pair of touchdown passes during a six-catch, 64-yard effort to help the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins on the road. In the process, he showcased a real flair for understanding pass routes and beating coverage from a variety of spots.

Washington’s offense needs that ability out of the backfield. A true third-down option is perhaps the only thing the unit is lacking at the skill positions.

Head coach Jay Gruden wants to freshen things up at running back, and he’s already indicated all options for new blood will be considered, per ESPN’s John Keim:

It’s very deep running back draft in my opinion, and we’re excited to add another piece at some point, hopefully. We have seven picks. Hopefully one of them will be a running back, or a free agent to compete. There are some good free agents that haven’t been signed yet.

McKnight can certainly help out if he proves his fitness. His experience and proficiency as a kick returner would also be a bonus for a special teams group missing a true spark in that area.

If Fewell wants a familiar face around, he should talk the decision-makers at Redskins Park into bringing Quintin Demps on board. He could provide excellent depth at a key spot lacking cover, as well as adding talent and explosiveness to the return game.

McCloughan found a possible solution for the annually troublesome free safety spot when he traded for Dashon Goldson. The problem is finding capable depth behind the hard-hitting 30-year-old.

This depth chart is bloated with natural strong safeties. Goldson’s fellow new signing Jeron Johnson will compete with a deep group featuring Phillip Thomas, Duke Ihenacho and Akeem Davis.

As a natural free safety with starting experience, Demps would be a quality stand-in for Goldson. The 29-year-old has a real knack for getting his hands on the ball, having helped himself to eight interceptions over the last two seasons in a situational role.

Demps can also be an instant hit returning kicks. As a member of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, he averaged just over 30 yards on 33 kick returns, including a 95-yard score.

This is a very useful situational free agent who would offer big-play potential on two units.

Dwight Freeney would be a passing-downs demon on a Washington defense that needs more ways to get to quarterbacks this season. The Redskins managed just 36 sacks in 2014, but that would surely change with one of the league’s all-time great pressure specialists helping out.

Freeney has been slowed by injuries in recent seasons, but the 35-year-old has lost none of the know-how needed to get to quarterbacks. He still possesses a quick takeoff, sturdy bulk for the bull rush and a crafty spin move no offensive tackle has figured out in 13 seasons.

Freeney would fit as a situational pass-rusher who would add more pressure potential to the sub-package defenses. He’d also serve as a great mentor to second-year rush linebackers Trent Murphy and Jackson Jeffcoat.

Both have shown promise and raw skills. Some expert tutelage from Freeney could unlock their potential ahead of schedule.

Back in March, ESPN 980’s Chris Russell smartly suggested Freeney as a good fit in Washington. His core skills, savvy and experience working with Barry last year with the San Diego Chargers makes this move one the Redskins shouldn’t avoid.

A one-year, pay-for-play deal would give Freeney one last chance to feature in quarterbacks’ nightmares before he hangs up his cleats. It would also give Barry’s D a key and flexible weapon for more expansive pressure schemes.

Gruden and new offensive line coach Bill Callahan want more power on the ground. That means changes are in store not only for the blockers in the trenches, but also for the men tasked with carrying the ball.

Lead workhorse Alfred Morris, he of three 1,000-yard seasons, has found success in the NFL within the specific confines of a zone system. Morris is a product of the famed Shanahan zone-stretch scheme installed by Gruden’s predecessor, Mike Shanahan, back in 2010.

Can Morris be as effective behind the drive and gap blocking Gruden favors? CSN Washington’s Rich Tandler isn’t convinced. He wisely believes the Redskins should add a ball-carrier used to running behind power-based blocking:

And I’m not as fully confident that Morris will be able to adjust to running behind power blocking. I think the Redskins would be well advised to draft a back who can hit a hole quickly to get some carries this year and possibly replace Morris, who is in the last year of his contract, in 2016.

The notion of replacing Morris is a tricky one, but the idea of recruiting a more natural fit for the new schemes certainly has merit.

There are few, if any, better power backs left on the market than Ahmad Bradshaw. He’s run behind power concepts such as pulling guards and overloaded lines his entire pro career with both the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts.

Bradshaw packs a lot of toughness into his 5’10”, 217-pound frame. He’s also a very tenacious competitor who would add some genuine, although perhaps not always welcome, intensity to a rebuilding team.

At 29, Bradshaw is a little on the gray side for a running back, but the wear on his tires isn’t as extensive as you might think. After all, he’s worked in committee backfields with Big Blue and the Colts. So this veteran would be comfortable only taking away a few carries from Morris.

The latter’s adjustment to the power scheme doesn’t involve his size. It’s more concerned with how he’ll identify and attack holes created by hat-on-hat blocking instead of stretch-style movement.

The fact that Morris’ average was a career-low 4.1 yards per carry in 2014 indicates he did have some trouble adapting to the type of ground attack Gruden wants. Bringing Bradshaw back to the NFC East would be a great way to provide some valuable insurance.

Still just 27, Brandon Spikes is a niche linebacker who would bring some genuine physicality and intimidation to Washington’s base defense. Simply put, Spikes’ niche is stuffing the run.

The former New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills bruiser puts his 6’2″, 255-pound frame in the middle of both A-gaps and hits everything that enters his area. Spikes is the type of linebacker phrases such as “two-down defender” were invented to describe.

But that type of moniker sometimes serves to devalue what he does best, as if expertise stopping the run is somehow no longer that important. It certainly will be for the Redskins in 2015.

Washington calls the NFC East home, a division loaded with talented running backs and powerful offensive lines. Most notably, the Philadelphia Eagles are ready to unleash a pair of 1,000-yard runners, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, on defenses this season.

They may have lost Murray, but the Dallas Cowboys still have a young and talented front five that dominates defenses in the running game. Even the New York Giants boast potential and versatility on the ground in the shape of young bruiser Andre Williams and veteran speedster Shane Vereen.

Stopping these rushing attacks should be a priority for Barry’s defense. Spikes doesn’t fit the mold of linebackers Washington’s new coordinator tutored for the San Diego Chargers in 2014.

Yet while Spikes is nowhere near as athletic and flexible as Manti Te’o and Donald Butler, the Chargers still ranked 26th against the run. A lack of a true thumper in the middle was a major reason why.

If the Redskins put Spikes behind house-sized nose tackle Terrance Knighton on run downs, they could pretty much stop worrying about an opponent’s ground attack. Making an offense one-dimensional is still what every defense hopes to achieve.

McCloughan has spent this offseason building a bigger, nastier D. Bringing Spikes to town would complete the remake.

If there’s one name on this list certain to agitate the keyboard warriors, it’s Greg Jennings. But even though he’d be entering a crowded and talented wide receiver rotation, there’s still a lot of reasons to recommend Jennings to Washington.

Specifically, the 31-year-old has remained an effective target in the red zone. That’s something the Redskins have lacked.

DeSean Jackson is a deep threat naturally better from further out. Meanwhile, Pierre Garcon tends to draw a crowd inside the 20s. It would help if tight end Jordan Reed could stay healthy enough to make the difference near the goal line his talent promises.

Jennings would solve the problem. He’d also give the team’s young and struggling quarterbacks a get-out-of-trouble safety net.

Jennings is one of the league’s craftiest route-runners. He knows how to exploit coverage shells and find the gaps in zones. While some of his quickness has diminished, he’s still imaginative enough out of his break to outwit press corners with some double and even triple moves.

At this stage of his career, Jennings can be the perfect possession receiver. That’s still something Gruden’s passing game needs.

He even indicated the Redskins may bring back Santana Moss, per ESPN’s John Keim: “We’re keeping a close eye on Santana. You know, that’s something that we know where Santana is and he knows where we are, and something may work out down the road.”

Moss offers similar skills to Jennings. Yet the 5’10”, 193-pound 35-year-old is a little smaller than the wide receivers Gruden generally prefers. Slightly younger, Jennings offers greater size and a little more explosiveness.

Even with names like Jackson and Garcon on the depth chart, there’s room and opportunities for another receiver. Gruden wants to make more use of more weapons once the new season begins, per Stephen Czarda of the team’s official site: “The most important thing with an offense is being able to spread the ball around and get everybody involved.”

Jennings would help make that plan a reality, and also make life easier for the men under center.

Every free agent on this list would help out at a key position for the rebuilding Redskins. They each offer specific skills ideal for the type of situational work that adds variety to all three phases of the game.

McCloughan made generally smart use of the early stages of free agency, but he’d score major points by wrapping things up with a team-friendly deal for a talented and savvy vet or two.

All statistics and player information via NFL.com.