It’s been a tough few weeks for Washington Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
After a relatively quiet first two weeks, Forbes was matched up with Bills star Stefon Diggs in Week 3 and Eagles star A.J. Brown in Week 4. In the matchup against Brown, Forbes had multiple “welcome to the NFL” moments. He was credited with allowing nine receptions for around 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Yet, Washington coaches kept Forbes matched up with Brown.
In Week 5, Forbes had another difficult matchup with Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore. The Commanders’ entire secondary struggled against Moore, but Forbes was benched. That performance on national television led Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay to offer some encouraging words to Forbes.
With Forbes struggling recently, what’s his status for Week 6 against the Falcons?
Head coach Ron Rivera said, “We’ll see,” when asked about his workload for this weekend’s game.
“How he handles this situation and circumstances is important for him,” Rivera said via John Keim of ESPN. “It’s important for us to see and see how he handles a lot of things. We’ll continue to work, he’ll work, as will the rest of the DBs, and we’ll see how things go.”
For his part, Forbes remains upbeat with the encouragement of his teammates.
Emmanuel Forbes after practice pic.twitter.com/8S9nBZzLzr
— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) October 11, 2023
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was asked about Forbes.
“I’m just going to say it hasn’t gone the way he would like or we would like,” Del Rio said. “So, we’ll just keep working at it. I believe in the young man. He’s obviously had a rough start, hasn’t been as productive as we’d like him to be, and I know how much he’d like to be himself. So, just got to keep working, that’s what you do in this business, there’s no shortcut, there’s no easy way out, you just have to work, and that’s what we want him to do.”
This leads to more questions about the coaching staff. Remember the William Jackson signing? The Commanders took a player in one scheme and tried to make him fit their scheme, and it, predictably, ended up going badly.
Forbes has played just five NFL games. There’s no reason to be too concerned. Every cornerback will struggle, especially when matched up one-on-one with players such as Diggs, Brown and Moore.
All cornerbacks are going to lose reps. It’s a difficult position. Forbes’ mindset appears to be in the right place. If he’s going to turn things around, he needs to play — and play the style of football that made him the No. 16 overall pick.
This week, Forbes and the Commanders face the Atlanta Falcons, led by their top receiver, 6-foot-4, 213-pound Drake London. While London isn’t yet as accomplished as the aforementioned wideouts, he presents another unique challenge with his size. Does that mean we’ll see him matched up with Benjamin St-Juste, or will the coaches turn back to Forbes?
This is a massive week for Forbes and Washington’s defense.