Emmanuel Forbes

Pos: CB

School: Miss. State

Ht. 6’1″ 

Wt. 166

Games Watched: Alabama, LSU, Kentucky

One Liner: Lanky corner who wins with fluidity, ball skills, and technique

Strengths: 

  • Very good ball skills. Outside of just his insane interception numbers, Forbes is actually a technically refined ball hawk, and has the length and technical traits to be a competitive corner at the catch point regardless of coverage types.
  • Very good fluidity. Forbes shows no issue or stiffness with flipping his hips and mirroring receivers downfield. This allows him to be a potential man corner once he adds some more weight. 
  • Good technique. Forbes is technically sound, and has solid footwork off press and into his cross step during the transition phase in off man. In zone, he shows little wasted steps and breaks on the ball with efficient movements. 
  • Good processor. Forbes is a solid processor, and flashes the ability to win based on reading his keys and processing route progressions early in their development to sniff plays out and potentially jump passes. More consistency is key, but a lot of his interceptions came due to high level processing. 

Weaknesses:

  • Marginal size. Forbes’ primary issue is a rail thin frame. 166 is an unprecedented weight for an NFL cornerback, and he would be susceptible to some serious outmuscling at the catch point and would most likely be a non factor in running situations. He needs to add more weight to be a potential man corner moving forward as well.
  • Poor functional strength. Because of his frame, Forbes also has minimal functional strength for the role he will need to play in the NFL. As of right now he fits best as a zone corner, but he will need some more strength and bulk to attack with physicality and be able to consistently wrap up once he makes contact. 

Overall Assessment: Emmanuel Forbes is a ball hawk type corner, who flashes some great processing and technique to be in the right place at the right time. His interception numbers don’t seem to be a fluke, as his technique and fluidity backs up his numbers. However, a lot of his traits may go to waste unless he bulks up, and I am not sure if any of his ball skills can be a factor if he plays at 166 pounds in the pros. Even if he gets up to 175, I would be more comfortable putting him in press situations, but until then he will be designated to zone looks. 

Scheme Fit: Zone corner that could become more viable in press with added weight

Pick Projection: Round 2

Grade: 6.35