It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…
The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.
I’d been thinking about posting a comment on Mark Bullock’s website asking him to analyze the question of who Washington’s starting boundary corners should be this season.
He was way ahead of me, and this week, he posted a film study to answer that very question.
If you want to see his entire 4-play breakdown and assessment, you’ll need to read it for yourself on his site, but here is a taste of his thinking on the subject:
I’m going to assume that while the coaching staff will of course say things like “nobody is guaranteed to start” and “Forbes will have to earn a starting job” during the rest of the offseason and into training camp, he will almost certainly take one of those starting spots. So then, who is best suited to partner Forbes on the outside: St-Juste or Fuller?
St-Juste does have potential to develop into the type of corner the Commanders want on the outside. Perhaps with another year under his belt in the system, he will begin to trust his reads a little more and start making those plays more often. That could potentially be a path for him to win the starting job over Fuller, but ultimately I believe his overall play last year was too inconsistent, especially when playing zone coverages from off the line of scrimmage. For me, Fuller’s fit in the system, his consistency and his experience should give the upper hand over St-Juste going into training camp and the start of the season.