Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had himself an excellent bounce-back performance against the New England Patriots in Week 9. Not only was Forbes Pro Football Focus’ top-graded rookie defender last week, he was one of the highest-graded defensive players in the entire NFL.
To keep things in perspective, that was against a Patriots’ team devoid of elite talent at wide receiver. That’s not to dismiss Forbes’ performance; he was excellent and did exactly what you wanted in the win.
Forbes’ teammates and coaches praised him after last week’s game. That praise continued this week from defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
“I think he’s just working at it,” Del Rio said of Forbes. “You know, he’s a good young player. We believe in him. He’s just gotta grind and work. That’s what he has done, and that allowed him to get himself back in the game, and then he played well.”
This week, things will be much tougher for Washington’s defense, specifically the cornerbacks. The Seahawks have one of the NFL’s best trios at wide receiver: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Metcalf, at 6-foot-4, 236 pounds, is one of the more imposing wideouts in the league. He’s also a former teammate of Eagles WR A.J. Brown from their time together at Ole Miss. It was Forbes’ struggles against Brown that led to his benching.
Del Rio was asked about the physical comparisons between Metcalf and Brown.
“Big, strong guys,” Del Rio said in response. “Yeah, I mean, certainly you could take that.”
So, of course, the next question was naturally if the slight Forbes would be matched up with Metcalf.
Del Rio wasn’t biting.
“Anyone want to answer him on any kind of scheme questions?,” Del Rio said. “No, every week, we put together a plan, go out, and hope to execute the best we can. Obviously, he’s part of it, part of the plan.”
Matchups can lead corners to move around the defense, but I wouldn’t expect the Commanders to have Forbes lined up opposite Metcalf on Sunday.