Adam Peters‘ Commanders regime cut ties with a handful of 2023 draft choices brought in by Ron Rivera and Co. This included bailing on third-round center Ricky Stromberg‘s rookie deal a year in. Weeks later, the top pick from last year’s Commanders draft may not be on steady ground.
Washington is certainly not a seller this year, separating the current team’s setup from the situation that led Montez Sweat and Chase Young out the door on deadline day last year. But the team is exploring help at wide receiver and cornerback. The latter area may also be a spot where a subtraction comes.
The Commanders are gauging Emmanuel Forbes‘ value on the market, per veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson. Forbes has not justified his draft slot — No. 16 overall — despite coming to the nation’s capital after elite turnover numbers in college. Forbes has started one game this season and played in five, seeing later-round prospects work in front of him.
Drafted one spot in front of Christian Gonzalez last year, Forbes has played just 37% of the Commanders’ defensive snaps this season. The team drafted the slender prospect to work in Rivera and Jack Del Rio‘s scheme, and while a thumb injury slowed him early this season, the Mississippi State alum only played 50% of Washington’s defensive snaps as a rookie. The Commanders have used Forbes as a starter in just seven games since drafting him midway through the first round. Pro Football Focus has assigned Forbes an abysmal 37.6 coverage grade this season.
Benjamin St-Juste and second-round rookie Mike Sainristil are ahead of Forbes, with multiyear Chargers starter Michael Davis also added this offseason. Noah Igbinoghene, a former Cowboys low-end trade pickup, has also started five games and logged a 67% snap share as primarily a slot defender. After not contributing much to the Dolphins’ cause despite being a former first-round pick, Igbinoghene was among the cadre of Cowboys to follow Dan Quinn to Washington. He has slid Sainristil to the boundary, cutting off a Forbes path back to the lineup.
Forbes finished his college career with six pick-sixes but checked in at 166 pounds. The previous Commanders regime liked Gonzalez as well but preferred Forbes to the eventual Patriots CB1. Forbes intercepted a staggering 14 passes in just three seasons at Mississippi State, but thus far, he has not translated into a reliable pro corner. Forbes is under contract through 2026 and would add some dead money to Washington’s payroll if traded before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.
It would cost the Commanders more than $12MM in dead cap, which would be spread between this year and next, to unload Forbes, who has more than $5MM in guaranteed salary due from 2025-26. That would also be an issue for an acquiring team, though with Forbes just 23, it would also not surprise to see a team that liked him coming out of the draft to take a flier. Of course, the Commanders would likely not fetch anything beyond a Day 3 pick at this juncture. Whether the team moves on may depend on if it acquires another corner before the deadline.
I just gauged it too
It’s non existent
Ron Rivera’s drafts were terrible. Can’t really blame him for Chase Young, but everything after that was egregious first round misses. Especially on D, where you’d think he’d have a better handle on talent evaluation. And it’s not like they were all obvious choices, the whole world had Christian Gonzalez ahead of Forbes.
Jamin Davis?
Jahan Dotson?
Ugh.
Swap him for the CB on the Giants who was also drafted too high? You already made one in-division trade with Dotson, who’s done NOTHING, on a team without anybody past WR1 and 2, so why not take a flier on a change of scenery. Works out for both teams and at worst neither is on their new team in another year.
I’d send him away. The Commanders are building something great for the first time in decades. Forbes should be sent to a team thst needs DB depth like Colts. They have enough cap to offset the dead cap they’ll endure.
Send him to Colts for a conditional 5th.
Everyone wins.
Since the money is already spent, I’d keep Forbes for the seven DB setups on third and long, fourth and long. Forbes can cover, he just can’t tackle big running backs or tight ends. Putting him in as a starting corner is a non-starter.
Should have been a fourth or fifth or sixth round pick as Forbes simply doesn’t have the right build for the NFL. Size doesn’t count until it does.
Otherwise, the Commies could trade Forbes for another problem player extremely over-drafted. Since both players aren’t doing well for their current club, the player swap can’t do either club any harm.