When news broke that the Los Angeles Rams had successfully claimed Emmanuel Forbes off of waivers from the Washington Commanders, it raised eyebrows around Southern California.
Sure, the Rams' secondary has been alright in 2024, with free agent Darious Williams working out well and Tre'Davious White already traded to the Baltimore Ravens – where he has played 80 snaps over three games – but adding a former first-round pick in December, no less?
Interesting.
So what is it about Forbes that the Rams like and how do they see him fitting onto the team moving forward, be that at perimeter cornerback, slot cornerback, or even just as a depth player who could log snaps on special teams? Well, McVay was asked that question shortly after the deal became official on Monday and broke down what he likes about Forbes at this stage of the game.
“[He's a] player that we liked as part of the evaluation process coming out a couple of years ago out of Mississippi State. He had a lot of ball production and had some good tape out there, even when we played them last year. He showed versatility, showed competitive toughness on the edge, and good ball skills,” McVay told reporters.
“A guy that I don't know too much about personally, but Kam Curl was excited to be able to reunite with him. We'll get him in here and get him acclimated to the building, but he was a guy that we liked and had a familiarity with just based on the evaluation coming out of Mississippi State, and then I thought there was some good tape that he's put out there when we've gone against him, particularly later in the year last year.”
After spending the early part of his career as a key contributor for the Commanders under Ron Rivera, Forbes fell out of favor with new head coach Dan Quinn, who clearly didn't like using the undersized cornerback in his press-man scheme. Will Forbes be a better fit in Chris Shula's scheme? Potentially so, but even if he isn't, this was a very low-risk signing, so they might as well give it the old college try, right?
The Rams plan to keep Emmanuel Forbes and Ahkello Witherspoon
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When asked how Forbes' addition to the Rams' roster will impact the rest of the roster, namely reserve cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who splits his time between being an outside reserve and being a special teamer, McVay let reporters know that he plans to keep both players moving forward, as they can both be quality contributors to the team.
“Yeah, Cobie [Durant] and [Darious Williams] ‘D-Will' ended up… we will have to make a move, but it won't affect Ahkello,” McVay told reporters. ‘D-Will' and Cobie were able to go wire to wire and they did a nice job for us, but Ahklello has been a guy that we will certainly need. He's been a big part of a lot of good things for us and we're grateful to have him on the team.”
Could Forbes and Witherspoon be fighting for the first outside cornerback off of the bench role for the Rams moving forward? Maybe yes, maybe no, but don't discount the potential of giving the Mississippi State product some looks at slot cornerback. Though he may be rail thin for the outside, and take Ls going up against physical receivers like DK Metcalf and AJ Brown, his talents could be better suited in the slot, especially if the Rams suffer another injury at the safety position that forces Quinton Lake back next to Kamren Curl long-term.
