What sort of group have the Commanders assembled at cornerback?
Do you realize the Washington Commanders gave up an unbelievable 518 points in 2023? The closest team to them (Cardinals) surrendered 63 points less.
The Commanders couldn’t pressure opposing quarterbacks, and the back seven made up for it by not covering anybody either! The passing defense was so bad that it gave up 344 more yards than the 31st-ranked Bengals. Opposing teams passed for 39 touchdowns against Washington—last in the league.
Ron Rivera was seen on a Commanders video excitedly driving to work on the morning of the 2023 NFL draft, anticipating drafting Emmanuel Forbes, available at No. 16. Rivera selected Forbes.
Emmanuel Forbes TFL on 3 and 1! pic.twitter.com/z7Wa8j8Bd2
— Mark Tyler(Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) August 22, 2023
Forbes struggled terribly during the 2023 season, but what made it even worse was that the coach coaching the defensive backs (Brent Vieselmeyer) was an unqualified secondary coach, as Rivera was in a lame-duck year.
This year, Forbes has gained 15 pounds, and there is a qualified secondary coach (Tommy Donatell) who coached the Chargers secondary the last three seasons. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. coached the secondary for the Packers (9 seasons), Falcons (1 season), and Cowboys (3 seasons).
The Commanders’ current roster includes five corners: Forbes, Benjamin St-Juste, rookie Mike Sainristil, and veterans Mike Davis and Noah Igbinoghene.
Sainristil was great in college, but this is the NFL. There will be struggles in learning, but coaches say he has continued to get after it and looked good in training camp.
Davis and St-Juste both have plenty of experience starting outside, so they could very well be the choices to start the opener next Sunday.
Igbinoghene was the Dolphins’ first-round choice in 2020 (30 overall), but he just hasn’t developed as was projected coming out of Auburn. In fact, Igbinoghene has only started five games in his four NFL seasons. He did spend 2023 with Quinn and Whitt in Dallas and chose to follow them to Washington.
Note: Lastly, Commanders Wire had last read the Commanders have two corners on the practice squad (Chigozie Anusiem and Bobby Price). However, we noticed Price is actually listed on the roster. We’ve searched for confirmation but have yet to find any communication from the Commanders that such a move was made. Consequently, it might be a clerical error.
