Commander Country

Commanders, Patriots Talked NFL Draft Trade for No. 14 Pick

The Commanders took Emmanuel Forbes with the No.16 pick in the NFL Draft, but footage has emerged of a potential trade with the Patriots on draft night.

Adam Schultz

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The NFL Draft can be a tight and tense time for players, coaches, and teams. For the Washington Commanders, the draft night was rather tense. 

Slated to have the No. 16 pick, video has now emerged of talks between the Commanders and the New England Patriots to see if Washington would be involved in a pick trade that would see them move back in the draft order.

With an eye on ball-hawking cornerback Emmanuel Forbes and the thought that the Patriots could take him from under their noses, after some deliberation from general manager Martin Mayhew and head coach Ron Rivera, the team decided against the trade. 

That ultimately led to the Commanders taking the player they had their eyes on all night - Forbes. Take a look at the fascinating vision below.

At the time, there were two cornerbacks on the board ... Christian Gonzalez out of Oregon, and then Forbes. With the Patriots set to pick after the Commanders, we can see why the team opted against trading ... they wanted Forbes.

Thus far, through OTA's and minicamp, Forbes has justified the Commanders' decision to take him over the highly rated corner in Gonzalez as he has already shown flashes of his ability.

Many saw the Forbes pick as a gamble, but his start to life as a Commanders has been a smooth transition. Of course, routes are run on air, and there are no competitive drills yet, but the foundation for growth is there.

Had Washington accepted to trade back, then we wonder if they would have selected Gonzalez. Eyes will be on both rookies next season to see if Washington's decision to take Forbes was the right one.

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Adam Schultz
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