The Washington Commanders could have one of the better secondaries in the NFL in 2023. After selecting defensive backs Emmanuel Forbes and Quan Martin in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, the Commanders have outstanding depth at cornerback and safety.
Washington has three starting-level corners in Forbes, Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste. Martin can play corner or safety. Speaking of safety, the Commanders have Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest, Jeremy Reaves and Percy Butler.
Curl receives a lot of praise — and deservedly so — but Forrest’s emergence last season helped take Washington’s defense to another level. Initially, when Curl missed the first two games, Forrest filled in for him. When Curl returned, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio made Forrest a starter alongside Curl.
Forrest was outstanding last season. He played in all 17 games, recorded 88 tackles and tied for the team lead with four interceptions.
Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recently named his All-Underrated Team, picking a secret superstar for all 32 NFL teams. Forrest was his pick for the Commanders.
2022 was effectively a rookie season for Forrest, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of Cincinnati, but saw just 26 defensive snaps and 15 in coverage then. Washington saw fit to bump that up severely to 849 snaps and 508 in coverage last season, and Forrest responded quite well. Playing everywhere from outside cornerback to the box to the slot to free safety, Forrest allowed 25 catches on 46 targets for 308 yards, 119 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, four interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 68.0 — sixth-best among all safeties playing at least 50% of their defenses’ snaps.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing about Forrest’s 2022 season is how much he improved as it went along. He was in a bit over his skis to start, and that resulted in some out-of-position busts against the run and the pass. But as things progressed, Forrest became much more of the kind of deep-third player who could be trusted to make the big play at the right time. This athletic interception of a Jalen Hurts deep attempt to A.J. Brown in Week 10 is one such example.
The former fifth-round pick is a secret no more.
