Why the Saints should consider bringing in recently-waived cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, the former Washington Commanders first-round pick:
The New Orleans Saints’ cornerback room has had quite a bit of shuffling in recent weeks, with Paulson Adebo out for the year and Marshon Lattimore being traded off to the Washington Commanders. This has left the Saints with only five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster, two of whom were just brought there in Shemar Jean-Charles and Ugo Amadi, as they both came from the practice squad. The full depth at the position is something like:
- Alontae Taylor
- Kool-Aid McKinstry
- Rico Payton
- Shemar Jean-Charles
- Ugo Amadi (nickel)
While Alontae Taylor has played well and been exceptionally explosive, and Kool-Aid McKinstry has been solid, there has been ups and downs with the rest of the group.
Ugo Amadi against the Cleveland Browns allowed 11 receptions on 12 targets (91.7%) for 96 yards, allowing a 100.0 passer rating, while also picking up four missed tackles on 11 attempts (36.4%).
Rico Payton absolutely deserves more playing time from what we saw in preseason, as he only has 21 snaps so far this year in the four games he has been in.
Finally, Shemar Jean-Charles, who in two games has allowed 7 receptions on 10 targets for 143 yards and a touchdown, worth a 106.3 passer rating against, with 1 missed tackle on 5 attempts. While he does have an interception, that was about the extent of his highly positive plays.
So, why should the Saints consider adding Forbes?
Well, first off, you are wasting absolutely nothing to bring him in and just see if you can spend some time developing him. He would end up being a waiver claim, which means he would be added with his current rookie scale contract. The need at corner is there beyond the top two at the position, and rather than use draft capital on the position (if possible), maybe you could snag someone serviceable off waivers and make other decisions with that draft capital. If he doesn’t pan out, you lost no picks and can revert back to drafting one anyways (or re-signing Paulson Adebo if that is their preferred alternative).
You have six regular season games left this season, and the ability to develop cornerbacks at a high rate from what we have seen with Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, Kool-Aid McKinstry (so far), and even Isaac Yiadom. The scheme allows for cornerbacks to flourish as they run the 4-2-6 lineup, allowing for an extra defensive back to come on the field at the expense of a third linebacker, hence why Willie Gay or Pete Werner sub off for presumed pass downs. Ultimately this gives the Saints a chance to grab and try to develop a young cornerback without trading anything away in the process.
What has gone wrong so far in his first two seasons?
One of the biggest issues for Forbes is he has been asked to play a lot of off-coverage, where he drops before the snap and is asked to stick with the receiver. His speed and lower weight would lead you to believe this is the right call, so the logic behind that decision is sound, but the receivers have been able to leverage short routes on the outside to counter that. So how do you fix it? You let the guy who ran a 4.35 40-yard dash shadow the receiver, and consider letting him press on a few snaps to see if he can offset the timing.
The other issue in his game is he has struggled with allowing the deep ball, giving up 16.3 yards per reception in his rookie year, and this season allowing 13.3 per reception on a limited snap count. Does most of this fall on him and his inability to contest at the catch point? No doubt. But you also have to consider that the safeties behind him in Quan Martin and Jeremy Chinn have had down years in coverage as well, and you have to have some level of trust in your deep secondary to cover you over the top. The Commanders have run right around league average percentage zone coverage at 69.4%, which is slightly on the higher end of that middle group of teams. This could also be contributing to those problems as well, as zone is much more reliant on safeties in the deep game than man is, which does not suit Forbes whatsoever.
This is a similar result to what has happened with Shemar Jean-Charles and Ugo Amadi, as those two have run the highest percentage of man coverage on the team (61.8% and 62.0% respectively) and that has led to them struggling, even with Tyrann Mathieu deep. Then you look at Alontae Taylor, someone with a similar frame and play style to Forbes, and he has 57.9% zone coverage, the 101st highest percentage compared to 58th and 61st.
Why would the Saints be an optimal fit?
My belief is the Saints would be the perfect chance for Forbes to reset, find a new way to play the game, and develop with some other great defensive backs. He would have the chance to learn from a player with a similar frame and play style in Alontae Taylor, who has worked both in the slot and outside, so maybe that is ultimately where Forbes resides due to his speed and size.
The Saints have a former long-time defensive backs coach in Joe Woods running the show at defensive coordinator, and another one in Marcus Robertson working as the secondary coach. This would give Forbes the chance to learn from two minds that have specifically tailored their craft to get the best out of their secondary, which is exactly what he needs at this point in time.
Additionally, there is room for playing time as he grows over time. As previously mentioned, the cornerback position is extremely slim for the Saints, and for the future they need someone to come in and play slot with Alontae Taylor moving outside. This provides Forbes immediate opportunity to get reps if he is ready, or if not, a chance for something to work at.
Finally, Forbes would have two former teammates from his last squad to work with as well, in Chase Young and John Ridgeway III. Chase Young has been exceptional at getting pressure this season and has had a large role with the Saints over the course of the season. John Ridgeway III has also seen a snap bump in recent games, as he has 153 defensive snaps and 35 special teams snaps so far in 8 games played.
All of these could be boons to the success of Forbes, and could all help him develop into the potential he had coming into the NFL draft only one and a half years ago. Why not take a shot and see what happens if you’re the Saints?
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