Emmanuel Forbes ‘needs rapid development’ in year 2 with Washington Commanders

To be honest, the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t feel much better than the Washington Commanders at the end of last season.

Despite a seven-game difference between the two franchises, the Commanders entered the offseason feeling lost and in need of major changes. The same was true for the Eagles.

And there were big changes taking place in both Washington and Philadelphia, bringing new hope through the presence of renewed energy from off-season additions and increasing the pressure on those who were there during the bad times that preceded what both franchises hope will be better times.

For the Eagles, that pressure falls more on coach Nick Sirianni than anyone else, and for the Commanders, players like cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, are under the microscope.

“The NFL has been much more willing to push the boundaries of size thresholds in recent years, and that was the case last year when the Washington Commanders drafted Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16 overall despite him weighing just 166 pounds at the NFL Combine,” wrote Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus in identifying Forbes as a player to consider in 2024. “In Week 4 against Philadelphia, Forbes spent much of his time trying to cover AJ Brown, who weighs 226 pounds — some 60 pounds heavier than Forbes’ NFL Combine measurement. That went about as well as you’d expect (10 targets, six catches, 147 yards and two touchdowns in that matchup alone), and Forbes was ultimately benched later in the year.”

Concerns about Forbes’s size extend far beyond his arrival at the Commanders’ in April last year, but the memory of why there were concerns about him in the first place is much fresher.

In that Week 4 game, Forbes was caught out of position several times, but even when he was in the right spot, he was simply outmatched physically by Eagles receivers Brown and DeVonta Smith.

According to PFF, both games between Washington and Philadelphia last year yielded Forbes’ two worst defensive grades, and the second was even worse than the first despite playing just five snaps.

In the first game, Forbes was targeted 13 times and gave up nine receptions, two touchdowns and nearly 200 yards of offense. In the second, he was targeted twice in those five snaps, completing all of them and giving up a score.

It’s clear the Eagles had a plan against Forbes and they executed it perfectly.

A change in schedule should help Forbes and an off-season to avoid the mistakes so he can see the lessons more clearly.

And he has until Week 11 of 2024 to get back on his feet, regain his confidence and then travel to Philadelphia for a Thursday night game in November against his arch-rivals in primetime.

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