The pressure that comes with being a first round pick usually has a shelf life — you either prove it in the first 3-4 years or your team gives up on you.
Rarely does a first round pick get less than 2 seasons. Just doesn’t happen very much because it’s not smart.
The Washington Commanders thought they saw enough of 2023 first round pick and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in just over one season that they cut him just 3 games into his second season in 2024.
It was a brutal decision that seemed to condemn Forbes to the NFL scrap heap.
The only problem? No one told Forbes.
Just a few days from the one year anniversary of the Commanders releasing Forbes, he was starring for the NFC favorite Los Angeles Rams in a blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football and earning high praise in the process.
Forbes had his second interception of the season against the Buccaneers to go with a stunning 5 pass deflections.
The Rams signed Forbes off the waiver wire on December 2, 2024 — just 2 days after he was cut by the Commanders.
“Sometimes the first team isn’t always the right team or the best fit,” SNF color commentator Cris Collinsworth said during the broadcast. “Emmanuel Forbes is out there playing like a tiger … that’s what a first round pick looks like. He hasn’t surrendered a touchdown in 6 games. He looks like a star.”
Rocky Start to NFL Career for Forbes
Getting drafted by the Commanders and lame duck head coach Ron Rivera did no favors to Forbes and his career.
Washington decided to take Forbes at No. 16 overall after he racked up 14 interceptions in 3 seasons at Mississippi State and set the NCAA Division I FBS record with 6 career interceptions returned for touchdowns.
What the Commanders chose to overlook were serious concerns about Forbes’ weight — he checked in at 6-foot-1 and 166 pounds at the NFL scouting combine. Instead choosing to focus on his high level production and his 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
With a 4-year, $15.4 million rookie contract, Forbes started 6 games in 2023 but was benched several times, including one of the most brutal “Welcome to the NFL” moments in recent memory when Philadelphia Eagles NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown torched Forbes for 9 receptions, 175 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 4. It was a game in which things got so bad for Forbes that Brown eventually would receive a hefty fine for taunting him.
With a new head coach in 2024 with Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Forbes was waived after the Commanders made what we now know was a disastrous trade for New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Of the four first-round picks Rivera selected — Forbes, wide receiver Jahan Dotson (2022), linebacker Jamin Davis (2021) and edge rusher Chase Young (2022) — none still play for the Commanders.
Starring for Super Bowl Contenders in L.A.
There is no team playing better football right now than the Rams, who are 10-2 and have won 6 consecutive games. Forbes is a huge part of that.
“Emmanuel Forbes faced seven targets and did not allow a single reception against the Buccaneers,” Next Gen Stats wrote on its official X account. “No defender since Week 12, 2022 has been targeted more times without allowing a catch. Forbes recorded a career-high 5 passes defensed in the win.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Former Commanders First Round Pick Stars for Super Bowl Contender Rams appeared first on Heavy Sports.