It’s unlikely the Chiefs will get a chance to claim the former first-round cornerback on waivers

First place predictably comes with more good than bad, but there is also a legitimate downside to a franchise having as sustained success as the Kansas City Chiefs. One downside is that the Chiefs are always last in the waiver order, which prevents them from acquiring promising talent when it’s on the line.

The most recent example of this type is Emmanuel Forbes. It sounds crazy that a former first-round cornerback from the 2023 NFL Draft (yes, just last year!) was made available, but that’s exactly what the Washington Commanders did.

On Saturday, the Commanders made the decision to forgo another draft loss on Ron Rivera to make room for players they believe in. In doing so, they seemingly made Forbes available to any other team that wanted to claim him, which on the surface seems silly considering he went 16th overall.

Forbes’ draft position makes him one of Washington’s top defensive back prospects today and signals a major step back after seeing how Christian Gonzalez fared at the same position with the New England Patriots – he only has one pick according to Forbes received.

Forbes, for his part, has been pretty terrible overall as a defender for Washington this season, posting a ridiculous 35.4 overall score according to Pro Football Focus. He missed over 30 percent of his tackles in limited action in six games this season and allowed a 103.0 passer rating in 14 games last year.

However, scouts were so impressed with his raw athleticism and instincts that they pegged him as a potential first-round pick, which Washington clearly accepted, and more teams will likely reveal their previous draft interests and try to claim him. Forbes was a ballhawk at Mississippi State University and set a record with six pick-sixes in his college career.

The New York Giants are at the top of the NFL’s waiver bill and will likely take the opportunity to evaluate a potential cornerback from a division rival. If not, it will be interesting to see how far he falls. Forbes may have been a bust in the nation’s capital, but the capriciousness of the position in general and the system-specific success that defensive backs enjoy around the league should give other teams hope to at least try.

As for the Chiefs, there’s next to no chance of Forbes making the team. While there may be a need for more help at the position, they are too far down the rankings for such an interesting prospect to fall into their lap. That’s the price of being 11:1.