Commanders secondary looked improved as Emmanuel Forbes played zero snaps

On Sunday, rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. watched on the sidelines as the Washington Commanders secured a 24-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Forbes was highly touted after the Commanders picked him with the 16th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. The Commanders selected Forbes over another profoundly named cornerback, Christian Gonzalez, who went the selection after to the New England Patriots.

Some experts raved about Washington’s choice of Forbes, noting his ball-hawking skills. While at Mississippi State, Forbes had 14 interceptions and an FBS record six interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Those positives led to Forbes being heavily involved in Washington’s defense for the first five games. He played 201 defensive snaps and traveled at times with opponents’ top receiver, like against the Denver Broncos’ Courtland Sutton in Week 2 or AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.

But his struggles became hard to ignore. Forbes got his welcome lessons to the NFL through a brutal stretch of games culminating in Week 5 on Thursday Night Football against the Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore.

Ultimately, the rookie mistakes were unbearable, and Washington benched Forbes in the second half against the Bears. He remained benched this past Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Commanders limited big plays with Benjamin St-Juste and Danny Johnson

The Commanders’ defense was on the field for 83 snaps against the Falcons, and Forbes didn’t touch the field even once. Instead, third-year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste got kicked out from the slot to boundary cornerback. Veteran Danny Johnson then played in the slot in the absence of Forbes.

Forbes remained on the sidelines even as Falcons wide receiver Drake London hauled nine catches for 125 yards. The majority of those catches occurred with St-Juste as the primary defender, including a Kyle Pitts touchdown against man coverage during Atlanta’s first possession.

Still, St-Juste got his first career interception in the fourth quarter, as Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder flailed a pass into the end zone off his backfoot for the pick. Meanwhile, Johnson had a significant pass breakup as he smacked down a pass intended for Pitts on fourth-and-eight in the fourth quarter.

The weaknesses that draft pundits pointed out for Forbes got laminated through his first five games. His slender frame has made him a target against bigger frame receivers — see AJ Brown, DJ Moore, and Courtland Sutton.

Those receivers boxed him out and took advantage of Forbes’ aggressive approach to trying to get an interception. On Sunday against the Falcons, St-Juste got beaten more times than he would have liked, but he limited the times a receiver got behind him.

On the touchdown to Pitts, St-Juste was picked by Johnson, his own teammate, as Johnson tried to stay with his man in coverage. London had a large portion of his catches on St-Juste but no touchdowns.