Will the Rams Rehabilitation Project Cornerback Continue to Blossom?
After Week Five's matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, there was a legitimate question about whether the Rams had the talent in their cornerback room to sustain them on a deep playoff run. Especially given the way Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne dominated through the air, the Rams' defense seemed to have a concerning weakness that could be exploited all season, despite boasting a top run defense and an elite pass rush. The safeties played fine, with Quentin Lake being a true difference maker and Kamren Curl, Kamren Kinchens, and Jaylen McCullough fluctuating between solid and pretty good all year. All eyes turned to the cornerbacks, and an evident weakness seemed to be found, especially with Emmanuel Forbes.
The former first-round pick came to Los Angeles after an abysmal start to his career in Washington, as a high upside swing with little risk on the waiver wire. Up until Week Five, he had a poor season, giving up three touchdowns and an opponent passer rating of 158.3 through five games. His matchup against the 49ers was the lowest point of his career. Forbes played a season low 28% of snaps in Week Five, despite the Rams being shorthanded at corner, with Ahkello Witherspoon out with a broken collarbone. Even in limited time, Forbes still achieved a 116.7 passer rating when targeted, also committing a costly missed tackle that allowed 23 yards after the catch.
At this point, it seemed like the dream of Forbes being a long-term developmental project for the Rams was all but gone. However, Forbes has forced that narrative to change. In Week Six and Week Seven, Forbes returned to playing 62% and 64% of defensive snaps, respectively, and played significantly better during that time. When targeted in those two games, he gave up a much lower 81.2 passer rating, 34 yards, and zero touchdowns. Most importantly, he had zero missed tackles and wasn't letting his more petite frame become a weakness on the outside. Over the bye, the Rams traded for Roger McCreary to bolster their cornerback room, but he has yet to play defensive snaps for Los Angeles. This is despite Darious Williams missing Week Nine and being limited in Week 10, playing only 19% of snaps.
The Rams were able to get away with this because they trusted Forbes to step in as a starter and a full-time player. Alongside only Cobie Durant, Forbes played 100% of snaps in Week Nine and played 92% of snaps in Week 10. The biggest highlight came in big splash plays, where Forbes came up huge in back-to-back plays against the Saints. He broke up a first-down completion to Juwan Johnson on third and four, followed by an interception on fourth down intended for Rashid Shaheed. This was his first interception in Los Angeles, and he sought to follow that up in his rematch with the 49ers in Week 10. He rebounded from the previous game against Mac Jones and picked up his second interception of the year, doubling his previous career total of two in just two games. Both of these interceptions came in the fourth quarter and effectively shut the door on any potential comebacks, sealing victory for Los Angeles. During Forbes' extended play time in these games, he was targeted 12 times and allowed only five completions. In that coverage, the opponent passer rating was a mere 23.6, and in Week 10, Forbes had an opponent passer rating in the single digits with 9.7. Forbes has also given up zero touchdowns since Week Five.
As the Rams move forward with an onslaught of great receivers on their schedule, the question of whether Forbes can continue this production becomes increasingly important. If there is one drawback to Forbes' play, it would be that the receivers he was playing against were not quite elite-level players. On their schedule, Los Angeles is set to play against Emeka Egbuka, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, and Tetairoa McMillan, as well as their divisional matchups against the Cardinals and the Seahawks twice. This means two matchups against a hopefully healthy Marvin Harrison Jr. and two matchups against the Seahawks' loaded receiver room that has Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, the former Rams superstar, and Rashid Shaheed, who will play the Rams two more times after playing against them with the Saints. Compared to Zay Flowers without Lamar Jackson, an injured Brian Thomas Jr., both Chris Olave and Shaheed with a rookie in his first start, and the heavily injured 49ers, this upcoming schedule threatens much more dangerous weapons on the outside.
Emmanuel Forbes will be the key thing to watch as the Rams fight through this gauntlet of great receivers. Will Forbes continue to play amazingly, or will Los Angeles choose to incorporate McCreary, or will they rely on the potential return of Witherspoon? Regardless of the outcome, Forbes has gifted Rams' fans with a glimpse of what he can do when put in a position to succeed. This upcoming stretch will reveal how much he can be trusted come the postseason. It will also be a determining factor in whether long-term tenure in Los Angeles is a possibility. Even if he doesn't keep up the insane production of the past four games, Forbes can regress a bit and still be more than a solid contributing piece on a Rams' defense that has grown more and more cohesive as the season continues. Only time will tell, but Forbes has become one of the most interesting stories to keep track of in Los Angeles.
