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 took Forbes as a off-zone corner and asked him to play press-man coverage.
There’s a reason why Forbes made my “Snead’s Snacks” list in 2023. He fit them schematically in addition to their archetype. The Rams run an off zone 3-4 defensive scheme, which requires cornerbacks to play very little press coverage. It allows Forbes to take deeper drops and cut down on the ball rather than being asked to win physically and play alongside or behind the wide receiver. With the Rams, he doesn’t need to press and can play on the ball where he thrives. Aubrey Pleasant also deserves a lot of credit for coaching Forbes to be more physical.
In this defense, Forbes is able to use his ball skills and football IQ while relying on the Rams pass rush to generate pressure and take advantage of mistakes. Forbes’ two interceptions this year equal the number that he had in his first two seasons combined.
With Forbes, the Rams currently have the number two pass defense via EPA per dropback. Comparatively, the Commanders rank 31st. Forbes has been one of the top cornerbacks over the past month and a half. Marshon Lattimore is the Commanders’ best cornerback and he ranks outside the top-30. Both Trey Amos and Mike Sainristil rank inside the bottom-15.
Early in the season, the Rams didn’t ask Forbes to be their number one cornerback and used him on a rotational basis. They spent time in the offseason and coached him up, building his confidence. When he struggled, they ‘soft-benched’ him as he played a season-low 27.9 percent of the snaps in Week 5 against the 49ers. It allowed Forbes to take a step back and reset. It also wasn’t a game that would put Forbes in position to succeed against a team that wants to force defensive backs to tackle.
The Rams inserted Forbes back into a large role in the defense and since then, he’s thrived. From Weeks 6-11, Forbes is the seventh-highest graded cornerback in coverage via PFF. His 33.7 passer-rating allowed when targeted ranks first. He’s been very good on the ball with three pass breakups and his 17 percent forced incompletion rate is inside the top-15, tied with Quinyon Mitchell. Forbes is never going to be a great tackler because of his size, but he’s been more willing in recent weeks.
There’s certainly a difference when going up against Cooper Rush and Sam Darnold. However, against the NFL’s best wide receiver in 2025, Forbes stepped up. He consistently lined up against Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Against Forbes, Smith-Njigba caught 3 of 5 targets for 30 yards for 1.5 yards per matchup. That was a season-low for the Seahawks wide receiver against a single player this season.
The Rams have a history of taking on reclamation projects and getting them to succeed. They did it with Dante Fowler Jr. and in a sense Leonard Floyd. Baker Mayfield can certainly be added to that list as well along with Kevin Dotson and Austin Corbett. Forbes seems to be the latest.
Right now, Forbes is playing like someone that has confidence and that’s showing up on the field. While it’s still only a five-game limited sample size, the results are certainly promising. The Rams are playing Forbes in a role that fits his skillset and his talent has become evident in each passing week. Without Witherspoon, the Rams have asked a lot more of Forbes and he’s risen to the occasion. When Witherspoon returns, the Rams will have a very solid duo on the perimeter.
