Commanders passed on the star fans begged for and regret keeps growing

The Washington Commanders were off on Sunday as they prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs. This will also be their second Monday Night Football showcase in three weeks.

In the meantime, it was a quiet week around the NFL, with every game decided by multiple scores but for the New York Jets' stunning comeback against the Cincinnati Bengals. In terms of results that may interest Commanders fans, the Dallas Cowboys gave up 44 points on the road to the Denver Broncos, and the Philadelphia Eagles blew out the New York Giants.

Drake Maye had another impressive outing for the New England Patriots, as they beat the Cleveland Browns to improve to 6-2. The Commanders should not be second-guessing their decision to draft Jayden Daniels instead of him, no matter what social media tells you. But they certainly should regret passing on one of his teammates.

Commanders' decision to draft Emmanuel Forbes Jr. over Christian Gonzalez continues to age terribly

Remember when the Commanders drafted Emmanuel Forbes Jr. with the No. 16 overall pick in 2023, and the Patriots took Christian Gonzalez with the very next selection? Of course you do, because nobody has ever let you forget about it, and rightfully so.

Gonzalez had himself a day against the Browns — to be fair, every defense does — allowing only one catch for two yards. It's par for the course for the 2024 second-team All-Pro, who is well on his way to piling up even more accolades this season.

Forbes, of course, was cut by Washington midway through his second year. He's managed to land on his feet in a solid backup role with the Los Angeles Rams, and could still have starting-caliber upside. After all, he was considered a major project when he was drafted out of Mississippi State, even if Ron Rivera didn't hold that opinion.

Washington, on the other hand, is stuck with a past-his-prime Marshon Lattimore, slumping second-year pro Mike Sainristil, and rookie Trey Amos. Gonzalez would sure look nice in that defensive backfield right now.

So many of the Commanders' issues could have been avoided had they taken Gonzalez. Not only would they have gotten a Pro Bowl-level corner instead of the Forbes disaster, assuming Jack Del Rio and Joe Whitt Jr. wouldn't have made him look bad, but the Lattimore trade likely never happens. Washington would have had three more draft picks in 2025 as a result.

It's easy to look at everybody else's shiny toys and complain about how the grass is greener on the other side. But in this case, it's not even a matter of hindsight being 20/20.

Gonzalez was widely considered the best player available. Rivera drafted Forbes because he thought he knew something the rest of the league didn't.

Three years later, the Commanders are still suffering from the consequences of his decision.