Washington Commanders select Emmanuel Forbes with the 16th pick. Grade: B
(Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports)
I’m a bit shocked that Forbes went before Christian Gonzalez, but the production and traits are undeniable. Forbes will need a few protein bars when he hits the Commanders’ facility, and there’s no arguing against 14 career interceptions, and an FBS-record six pick-sixes.
Height: 6′ 0¾” (70th percentile) Weight: 166 (0)
40-Yard Dash: 4.35 (92nd)
10-Yard Split: 1.48 (92nd)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 37½” (69th)
Broad Jump: 124″ (64th)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: 79″ (92nd)
Arm Length: 32¼” (78th)
Hand Size: 8½” (7th)
Bio: Forbes was a four-star recruit and the No. 1 cornerback in the state out of Grenada High School in Grenada, Mississippi, and his decision to commit to his home state was certainly good news for the Bulldogs. His impact was immediate, as he started nine games and had five interceptions in his true freshman season of 2020. In that season, he became the first MSU defender with two interceptions in a game since Mark McLaurin in 2017, and the first MSU defender with multiple interception returns for a touchdown since Corey Broomfield in 2009.
Over thee seasons with the Bulldogs, Forbes had one sack, four pressures, 130 tackles, 63 stops, and he allowed 110 catches on 191 targets for 1,404 yards, 657 yards after the catch, 14 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, an astonishing six interceptions returned for touchdowns, 17 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 74.6. Forbes played 1,962 snaps at outside cornerback, 192 in the box, 22 in the slot, six along the defensive line, and three at free safety.
Stat to Know: Teams that prefer man coverage might also prefer Forbes — last season, he led the nation with five interceptions in man coverage, and allowed just six catches on 18 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Strengths: With his interception numbers, you assume that Forbes has excellent ball skills, and that checks out. He’s got a great sense for slow-playing quarterbacks, as he did to Will Levis on this pick-six, and shooting in for the ball before anybody knows what happened.
Forbes will also use his height and crazy wingspan to replace a receiver’s catch radius with his own.
Weaknesses: As is the case for most taller cornerbacks with longer limbs, Forbes tends to struggle with receivers who can keep him off balance with quick route adjustments. When he stays low and works to transition through the route, he can mitigate that to a degree, but it does show up as an issue.
Conclusion: Teams who prefer aggressive defenses in which cornerbacks can just line up right on the receiver and clamp down from there should love Forbes’ tape. And nobody’s going to mind adding a player with his ball skills and production. Forbes could stand to add a few pounds in the interest of play strength, and there are a few holes in his coverage, but in the right system, he’s going to be a very tough defender to deal with.
NFL Comparison: Samari Rolle. Like Forbes, Rolle was a rail-thin (6-foot-0, 175-pound) cornerback who came into the NFL with all the tools for success except for that whole weight thing. It will only take one team to accept Forbes’ outlier status from that perspective and hope he doesn’t lose a tick of quickness if he beefs up a bit. At his peak with the Titans and Ravens, Rolle was a suffocating cornerback who you tested at your peril, and Forbes has put enough on tape to make me think he has the same potential palette.
