The offseason is all about experimentation. It gives coaches a chance to put players in different positions in practice to see if they can handle it.
The Washington Commanders are using the spring and OTAs to experiment at the cornerback position. Starting cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste return in 2023, and Washington added Emmanuel Forbes in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
The Commanders added another defensive back in the second round, selecting Quan Martin, who can play all over the secondary.
So this spring, Washington is in the process of determining who will play slot cornerback in 2023. Fuller has played the slot in the past, but since his return to Washington in 2020, he’s primarily played on the outside and thrived.
“The one guy we haven’t put inside has been Kendall,” Rivera said Wednesday. “We really think that Kendall’s a guy that plays with great vision, and again, you saw what he’s capable of last year with the way he played, especially with some of the things that [defensive coordinator] Jack [Del Rio] and the staff did adding a match zone type coverage that we used, and they’ve adapted to it very well.“
In other words, Rivera and Del Rio don’t need to see Fuller on the outside.
On the CB trio of @KeFu11er, @Benj_Juice and @emmanuelforbes7 pic.twitter.com/Cy5Fyk7tdh
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) May 31, 2023
Instead, St-Juste and Forbes are getting plenty of work on the inside. It’s not a surprise to see St-Juste working in the slot, as he did last offseason and early into the season. However, Washington moved him back to the outside during the season, and he thrived. St-Juste clearly works best on the outside.
“We’ve played Benjamin inside; we’ve played Forbes inside,” he said.
How has Forbes looked on the inside?
“He’s looked pretty good,” Rivera said. “He really has. He’s very quick. That’s one of the things that he is, he’s really quick. When you get those little water bug routes where the guys are trying to run options off you inside or out, he seems to handle those very well.”
It’s interesting because most evaluators viewed the playmaking Forbes as strictly an outside cornerback.
Of course, again, this is the spring. It’s smart of Rivera and Del Rio to move players around to find the best possible combination. The Commanders will often line up with five defensive backs. On most occasions, those five DBs will be a combination of Fuller, St-Juste, Forbes, Martin, Kamren Curl and Darrick Forrest.
The goal is always to find matchups that put your best players on the field. For now, that’s what Washington is doing. That doesn’t mean Forbes will play the slot during the season, but his work in the spring can prepare him for that assignment if needed.
When the season begins in September, Martin is still the odds-on favorite to play the slot for the Commanders.
