Patriots might have made a huge mistake passing on former first-rounder

Because of their roster's lack of depth, the Patriots have been active in adding players to their practice squad and claiming players via the waiver wire. A few of those they picked up have turned out to become big parts of the team, like former Raiders center Ben Brown, but there have been more misses than hits so far.

The new regime had a chance to make a big impact and fill a need by claiming recently released Emmanuel Forbes Jr., a 2023 first-round cornerback taken right before the Patriots selected Christian Gonzalez, but it appears they passed on the former Commander.

Many Patriots fans had expressed their desire to see the Patriots make the claim, adding Forbes to play alongside Gonzalez due to an iffy season from veteran Jonathan Jones. While he didn't thrive in Washington, he was still a highly touted prospect out of Mississippi State.

While there was certainly a reason for the Commanders to give up on Forbes after a season and a half, it felt like an easy waiver claim for a cornerback-needy team like the Patriots.

The Patriots may have missed the perfect opportunity to fill a roster hole before the 2025 offseason

The Patriots secondary has historically been one of their best units on the team, and it already looks like they have found the next generation to lead them into another dominating era. Gonzalez is at the forefront, with Marcus Jones making some good headway in a variety of roles over the last few seasons.

The problem, however, is that Jonathan Jones hasn't performed up to his usual standard this season, which raises questions about his full-time starting ability for the 2025 season and beyond. That makes the addition of Forbes feel like a no brainer, as the risk would seem to be worth the potential reward.

It's possible Jerod Mayo and Co. didn't see the hype about Forbes and didn't want to take on his fully guaranteed contract despite having the money to pay for it. It's also possible they already have their eyes on an upcoming free agent cornerback or a prospect in next year's draft, making it easy to turn the other way on a guy like Forbes.

No matter what, hopefully, they have a plan because it will be incredibly disappointing if he ends up becoming a big part of the Rams' defense and lives up to the potential draft experts believed he would be in the NFL. The Patriots could have had that in their secondary and created a superstar defense filled with young players for years to come.

But now we will have to wait and see what happens.

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