The Los Angeles Rams defense has been a conundrum this season. While several of their players are having outstanding performances, they are still a below-average unit as a whole. They are currently giving up the 8th most yards and the 12th most points per game (24.2). They are 19th in weighted DVOA, 24th in EPA per play (.044), and 24th ranked defensive success rate (45.1 percent).
The unit that is often blamed is the secondary. The unit has been hit hard with injuries and a big whiff of a bet on Tre’Davious White’s recovery from two catastrophic leg injuries. The result is the Rams have the 23rd-graded secondary by Pro Football Focus, which sandwiches them between the 3-8 New England Patriots and the 4-8 New Orleans Saints.
New CB Forbes Unlikely To Play In Rams Vs. Bills
In a late-season attempt to fix this, the Rams took a flyer on 2023’s 16th overall pick, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. Forbes was cut by the Washington Commanders after failing in his second season to solidify himself as a starter on the team.
But Sean McVay doesn’t expect the 6 foot 1, 180-pound speedster to play in his first week with the team. Senior staff writer for the Rams, Stu Jackson reported via social media that “McVay indicated it’s unlikely [that] recently-acquired CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr. makes his Rams debut Sunday vs. Bills. They don’t want to rush Forbes, make sure they take their time getting him acclimated.”
Forbes played a meaningful amount of snaps in just three games this season. In those games, he was targeted nine times and allowed seven receptions for a total of 93 yards. He has also missed six of a total of 13 tackle attempts. The Rams’ defense has missed 96 tackles this season, the second most in the league.
Forbes’ tenure with the Washington Commanders did not pan out as expected, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay believes the young cornerback possesses untapped potential or at the very least he can compete with undrafted rookie Josh Wallace or the underperforming Ahkello Witherspoon for a backup role.
“We’ll get him in here and get him acclimated to the building,” McVay said. “but he was a guy that we liked and had a familiarity with just based on the evaluation coming out of Mississippi State and then I thought there was some good tape that he’s put out there when we’ve gone against him, particularly later in the year last year.”
