The Rams got Emmanuel Forbes despite being low on the waiver priority
Sean McVay was shocked that the Los Angeles Rams were able to claim former Washington Commanders 2023 first-round pick CB Emmanuel Forbes on Monday, despite finding themselves outside of the top-15 teams in the waiver order. Forbes was taken 16th overall in last year’s draft by Washington’s former regime lead by Ron Rivera, however, this season the second-year corner has struggled to find a role in new head coach Dan Quinn’s defense and was subsequently cut over the weekend.
Speaking about LA’s most recent pickup, McVay said he actually didn’t think the team would have a chance to get Forbes.
“I didn’t actually think we’d get him because of where we’re at in the claim order, so we were pleased that we were able to get him,” The Rams coach continued “We’ll add him to the mix, we’ll get to know him and we’ll see where he fits. But that was kind of a simple thing that came to fruition.”
McVay also added that the Rams were interested in Forbes during the 2023 draft process which also pushed them to put in the hopeful claim when he was released.
“[He’s a] player that we liked as part of the evaluation process coming out a couple of years ago out of Mississippi State,” McVay said. “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.”
Forbes will now join his former teammate, and current Rams safety, Kam Curl in the LA secondary. McVay specifically mentioned how excited Curl was to be reunited with the young corner.
“Kam Curl was excited to be able to reunite with him,” McVay said. “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.”
Even with his struggles in Washington, Forbes still has 45 tackles and two interceptions in just 20 games. That’s pretty solid considering that some of those games he was also just in a reserve role, not the starter. The Commanders were able to acquire CB Marshon Lattimore from the Saints at the trade deadline and he is about to return from injury, which unfortunately made Forbes expendable.
As far as the Rams side of things, the move is the epitome of a low risk/high reward addition for the team. Free agent pickup CB Darious Williams has struggled lately, and LA has already traded CB Tre White, their other offseason corner pickup. Forbes now comes in with first round pedigree, and at only 23-years-old, has plenty of football ahead of him still if he can take advantage of his fresh start in Los Angeles. The Rams will hope that Forbes fits into their defense better than he did in Washington, but if they can unlock his pre-draft skillset, they could have a chance to potentially find a number one corner for the future.