Just over one year after selecting him ahead of Christian Gonzalez, the Washington Commanders could trade cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. A bit of a head-scratching selection at the time, Washington selected the Mississippi State product to shore up one of the league’s weaker secondaries. Instead, he was one of the weak links on the NFL’s worst defense, allowing a 121.2 passer rating when targeted (per Pro Football Focus). Forbes struggled in his 2024 debut under first-year head coach Dan Quinn, finishing the game with an abysmal 33.5 overall PFF grade.
Emmanuel Forbes should not have been a first-round pick, but a trade might bring a much-needed change of scenery. Most draft analysts believed he should’ve been a Day 2 pick, and that talent is still in there somewhere. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes the Commanders should trade their former first-round pick, and teams like the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs could be interested.
Commanders Could Trade Emmanuel Forbes To Saints, Chiefs
On paper, the New Orleans Saints have three reliable cornerbacks in Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, and second-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry. However, the Marshon Lattimore injury proves how quickly you can lose depth in the ferocious game of football. Lattimore might miss Week 2, but he should be back on the field in no time. However, the four-time Pro Bowler missed a combined 17 games over the past two seasons, so it wouldn’t hurt for the Saints to trade for Emmanuel Forbes as low-risk depth.
New Orleans must make the playoffs in 2024 if head coach Dennis Allen wants to keep his job, and he got off to a good start in Week 1. The 47-10 blowout win over the Carolina Panthers was encouraging, and Kirk Cousins looks like he might need time to find his old form after his season-ending Achilles injury. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a strong performance of their own in Week 1, and New Orleans must improve if they want to take down the reigning division champs. An Emmanuel Forbes trade might not be the biggest move they can make, but it wouldn’t hurt to see if Dennis Allen can get something out of the former first-round pick.
Emergency Cornerback Depth
The Kansas City Chiefs are in something of uncharted territory with their current cornerback situation. After watching Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed form the league’s best duo in 2023, the Chiefs had to trade L’Jarius Sneed in a cost-cutting move. With the star cornerback now on the Tennessee Titans, Joshua Williams stepped up as the CB2 on this defense. The former fourth-round pick played well in Week 1, but an Emmanuel Forbes trade would still provide the Chiefs with some much-needed depth.
Any team that faces off against Patrick Mahomes will have to throw the ball early and often to keep pace with that high-octane offense. With that in mind, Kansas City must have strong cornerback depth, as the team will likely roll out nickel and dime looks to counter these pass-heavy sets. Emmanuel Forbes won’t need to be the second or even third-best cornerback on this team to justify a trade, he’ll just need to use his speed to sit back in zone coverage and make plays in clear passing situations.
Main Photo: Lucas Boland – USA Today Sports
