If one player on the Washington Commanders’ current roster could use a strong 2024 season, it’s second-year cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
The No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Forbes had a rough rookie season that saw him benched multiple times. Forbes, who didn’t receive any help from the previous coaching staff, lost his confidence after Eagles star A.J. Brown embarrassed him early in the season.
Forbes never recovered. So, when the Commanders made a coaching change this offseason, it was both a scary and exciting time for Forbes. While the new regime didn’t draft him, they wouldn’t give up on last year’s first-round pick so soon.
However, Washington’s new coach was Dan Quinn. Quinn helped lead the Cowboys in turnovers for the past three years, and Dallas was a consistent top-five unit. Coming with Quinn was his former secondary coach with the Cowboys, Joe Whitt Jr., as the new defensive coordinator. Quinn and Whitt have done outstanding work developing several of Dallas’ defensive backs.
Upon their hiring, they admitted to liking Forbes out of college. Could they help him turn around his fortunes in 2024?
Through the first two days of training camp, Forbes has worked with the first-team defense, often matching up with star wide receiver Terry McLaurin. According to those in Ashburn, he has more than held his own.
Emmanuel Forbes has been battling with Terry all practice both getting the best of each other
Second year corner looks much improved
— Lynnell Willingham (@Nell_BTP) July 25, 2024
This is excellent news for Washington. A Forbes’ bounce-back season would answer many questions about the secondary.
Forbes’s true test this summer will be the joint practices. How will he react if he makes a bad play?
Jokes were made at Forbes’ expense this offseason when someone shared a photo of him with a high school football player who looked much bigger than Forbes. However, he insisted he worked on adding weight in the offseason, and the early indications were that he had added some weight.
While it’s a small sample size, training camp could not have started any better for Forbes.