Commanders first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes’ NFL career got off to a rocky start and the cornerback’s early struggles caught the eye of the Patriots heading into Sunday’s game between the teams.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones said after the 20-17 loss that the Patriots “were going to try and throw at him” any time Forbes was in the game. Forbes broke up two passes thrown his way and nearly intercepted a throw to Jalen Reagor in the third quarter of the game.
Jones noted Forbes “showed up and played really well” and head coach Ron Rivera talked about what he’s seen from Forbes since choosing not to play the rookie at all in Week Six. Rivera said he thinks Forbes has gained more of an understanding of what the position takes and that “a big part of it too was working some of the technique things that we’re asking of him.”
“Forbes had a good day yesterday,” Rivera said at a Monday press conference. “He played with a little bit more confidence, he’s doing a lot of things that we asked for. Like I said though, he’s got a ways to go. There’s some detailed things that he has to pay attention to, he must pay attention to if he’s going to be a really good player in this league.”
Making those plays against New England should only help Forbes’ confidence as the team heads to Seattle this week. If he’s able to continue doing good things against DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba, others will likely have a lot more confidence in him as well.
