WASHINGTON — Ron Rivera knows a thing or two about young cornerbacks.
One during his coaching tenure with the Carolina Panthers turned into an All-Pro corner. One that Commanders fans are quite familiar with.
“We had a kid in Carolina named Josh Norman, he was a young man that, you know, went through this type of scenario,” Rivera told WUSA’s Chick Hernandez. “He had to learn, and when he did, he became pretty damn good for us.”
Norman played for the Commanders from 2016-19.
The current young cornerback is rookie Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who got roasted for a second consecutive game and was eventually benched in Thursday’s 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears.
The first-round pick has been targeted early and often every week until he got pulled off the field against Chicago in the middle of DJ Moore lighting up the Commanders’ secondary.
Rivera still believes in Forbes Jr., however.
“I think the young man can be a player, I really do, he’s got the skill set,” he said.
Rivera stressed the importance of the team starting fast and being good on third down. The Commanders travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons and quarterback Desmond Ridder Sunday.
“They have a good running game,” Rivera said. “I think the big thing about him [Ridder] is, he’s got a good live arm, he’s a big, physical guy, and he runs with the ball as well.”
WUSA9 will sit down with Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera every Monday throughout the 2023-2024 season. The one-on-one moments will premiere on WUSA9 at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. and again on Get Up DC every Tuesday morning. The full interview between Rivera and Chick Hernandez will be available on WUSA9+.