What is the biggest reason for Emmanuel Forbes’ turnaround?

When the Los Angeles Rams lost Ahkello Witherspoon to a broken collarbone, putting him out for two months, there were legitimate questions on who would replace him. There were calls for the Rams to trade for a true top cornerback, but instead, the team opted to stand pat and stick with the status quo. The cornerback position was one of the biggest question marks for the Rams defense coming into the season and for that position group to be held down by Witherspoon was another problem entirely.

Last season, the Rams took on a reclamation project in Emmanuel Forbes and to say the immediate results were a mixed bag would be an understatement. Through the first four weeks of the season, Forbes ranked 67th out of 74 qualifying cornerbacks in coverage via PFF. He allowed 16.5 yards per reception in coveragem which was the eighth-most and a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted. Additionally, he had a missed tackle rate of 25 percent, which was also in the bottom-10.

After a lot of optimism during the offseason that Forbes may be able to turn it around, it became clear why the Washington Commanders moved onfrom the former first-round pick to begin with. Forbes had taken the place of Derion Kendrick, but without the penalties.

However, even during his struggles, there were glimpses of what was to come. Against the Tennessee Titans, Forbes gave up a big play along the sideline to rookie Elic Ayomanor. On the very next play, he came right back and got a pass breakup on an out-breaking route. Despite everything that Forbes has been through, it showed his ability to have a short memory and move on to the next play.

When it comes to cornerback play, scheme fit and confidence are very important. After the Commanders gave up on Forbes before the end of his second year, it’s fair to say that he wasn’t a scheme fit under Dan Quinn and he had lost a lot of confidence. The Rams spent last year and the offseason rebuilding that confidence.

The Commanders drafted Forbes as an off-coverage cornerback who excelled at breaking on the ball. However, in 2023, Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio played a lot more man coverage. While Dan Quinn’s defense is infamous for its Cover 3 schemes with the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, with the Dallas Cowboys, he started incorporating a lot more man. That carried over to the Commanders.

Forbes was drafted to do one thing and asked to do another. It simply became a bad match. The Commanders authored a pretty standard ‘how to guide’ on setting a player up to fail. It was the anti-Nnamdi Asomugha. From 2003-2010, Asomugha was one of the best man coverage cornerbacks in the NFL for the Raiders. When he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent, they asked him to play a lot of zone coverage. Asomugha became one of the biggest free agent busts of the decade. The Commanders...