Trade Pitch Has Commanders Send First Round Pick to AFC West

Before rookie quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels took the NFL by storm, the Washington Commanders could politely be called something along the lines of a case study on how to inaccurately scout players before the NFL draft.

While that might pay off for the Commanders soon enough because of the cap space created by turning down or pawning off a succession of fifth-year options on rookie contracts, there’s still a chance some of those draft mistakes can avoid becoming a sunk cost.

At the top of that list is probably cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., the Commanders’ last first-round pick of the Ron Rivera era when he was selected No. 16 overall in the 2023 NFL draft out of Mississippi State.

While Forbes has struggled as much as almost anyone in the 2023 draft class — which is saying a lot — he might still have value as a trade piece according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who proposed a trade to the Los Angeles Chargers that sends Forbes and a 2025 sixth round pick to the AFC West in exchange for a 2025 fifth round pick.

“First-round picks aren’t usually on the trade block before they’re even halfway through their second pro campaigns, but Forbes is a unique case,” Barnwell wrote on October 17. ” … He is probably the sixth corner on Washington’s depth chart and is due over the next three years more than $6 million guaranteed, which the (Commanders) might prefer to spend elsewhere. On the other hand, if an organization still sees Forbes as the dynamic playmaker he was in college, three years of a young cornerback at $6 million is a bargain.”

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Commanders’ Succession of Bad First-Round Picks

Forbes was a healthy scratch for the Commanders in Week 6 and hasn’t played since suffering a thumb injury in the season-opening loss to the Buccaneers on September 8. That comes after a rookie year in which Forbes was benched multiple times and was one of the worst-graded cornerbacks in the NFL, according to PFF.

The Commanders have already managed to unload one disappointing first-round pick recently, sending wide receiver Jahan Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fifth round pick in exchange for a third round pick and 2 seventh round picks in a deal that went down before the start of the regular season.

Dotson, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, has has 12 receptions for 35 yards and no touchdowns through 5 games with the Eagles.

If the Commanders can figure out a way to get back draft capital for Forbes, that would leave edge rusher Jamin Davis on the roster as the last remaining first-round pick from the Rivera era. In April, the Commanders declined the fifth-year option on Davis’ contract that would have paid him $14.4 million in 2025.

Like Forbes, Davis was a healthy scratch in Week 6 and, like Forbes, he might also be worth a draft pick from a team in need of an edge rusher.

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Commanders Shouldn’t Sweeten Deal for Forbes

While Barnwell is on target with identifying Forbes as a possible talent other teams might gamble a late-round draft pick on, he might be overselling Forbes’ value by just a smidge.

In reality, the Commanders would probably be better served to offer up a portion of Forbes’ 2024 salary as part of the deal in exchange for a draft pick (or two) in order to keep their picks— it’s something they did in part when they traded Dotson to the Eagles and agreed to pay $500,000 of the $2 million he’s due in salary in 2024.

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