Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes hopes to bounce back from disappointing rookie year

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Emmanuel Forbes is one of only two Washington first-round picks remaining from the Ron Rivera era after the Commanders traded Jahan Dotson to Philadelphia on Thursday.

Now the spotlight is on the second-year cornerback to bounce back from a disappointing rookie season.

Forbes was the 16th pick in the 2023 draft and started the first five games last season. By Week 6, Forbes was benched after being torched for 401 receiving yards in a series of welcome to the NFL moments.

While Forbes’ play varied the rest of the season, he wasn’t the only defensive back who struggled. The Commanders allowed a league-worst 4,627 passing yards and 39 passing touchdowns.

Enter Dan Quinn, hired as coach after three seasons as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, and another chance for Forbes to prove himself. With the ups and downs of last season behind him, Forbes is still dreaming about a major role.

“I have big goals for myself,” Forbes said Wednesday. “That’s for me to know, but of course winning is the main goal for the team. I just have to be the best version of me.”

Forbes will have to earn that opportunity. He appeared as a backup on the team’s first unofficial depth chart early in training camp.

“I’m going to compete my tail off every play, but there’s always things I can work on,” Forbes said. “I’m looking forward to being the best I can be.”

Defensive back is a position of intense competition for the Commanders. Forbes is battling with Benjamin St-Juste and Michael Davis for the two outside cornerback positions, with rookie Mike Sainristil penciled in as the other starter.

Asked Thursday about Forbes and St-Juste — another high pick of Rivera’s from the third round in ‘21 — new defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said he hasn’t done a good enough job of teaching what he wants, specifically coming up with interceptions on deep balls.

“I just have to do a better job of putting them in a position and giving them the confidence to go get those balls when the balls are thrown up there,” Whitt said. “They’ve been doing what we’ve asked him to do from a standpoint of going out there, learning, learning the techniques, learning the coverages.”

Final cuts to the 53-man roster are due Tuesday, with less than two weeks remaining before the start of the regular season. Forbes has one final chance in game action to set himself apart when Washington finishes the preseason Sunday night at home against the New England Patriots.

In the meantime, he thinks competition provided by his teammates will suffice.

“There’s always going to be competition no matter where you’re at, and it’s making all of us better,” Forbes said. “