The Washington Commanders went into the 2023 NFL draft knowing they would draft a cornerback or an offensive tackle in the first round. With four offensive tackles going before Washington was on the clock at No. 16 overall, the choice became easy: Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
Some teams believe the Commanders should’ve taken Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez. However, Washington was always higher on Forbes, as we saw in team-released videos after the draft. The Commanders even considered moving up to ensure they landed Forbes.
Head coach Ron Rivera mentioned Forbes’ ability to take the ball away as a primary reason Washington loved him. What also drew the Commanders to Forbes was playing at a high level in the SEC. The level of competition mattered to Washington.
In three seasons at Mississippi State, Forbes had 13 interceptions, six of which he returned for touchdowns. His legendary college head coach, the late Mike Leach, called Forbes one of the best players he’d ever coached.
Forbes arrived in Washington and instantly impressed coaches. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio couldn’t hide his excitement after adding Forbes.
On Day 4 of training camp, everyone got a glimpse of Forbes’ ability to change games. Forbes intercepted a Sam Howell pass and, if it were a game, would’ve returned it for a touchdown.
After Saturday’s practice, Rivera was asked about Forbes.
“He’s a young man that works hard,” Rivera said. “He’s a very smart, diligent young man when it comes to learning and trying to learn. He’s got tremendous study habits. He does the things that he needs to do to put himself in position, and then when you watch the way he plays, you see how he plays. He practices the way I believe he’s gonna play, and that’s hard and smart.”
Rivera is clearly excited about his rookie cornerback.
“Yeah, I mean, concrete numbers are unfair because a lot of it has to do with circumstances,” Rivera said when asked about his expectations for Forbes creating turnovers.
“I’m not comparing him to [New York Jets CB] Sauce Gardner, but you know, I know a lot of people expected a lot of things from Sauce. Well, sometimes people recognize it real quick, and they don’t throw the balls his way, and then everybody’s gonna know, well, how come he hadn’t got those numbers? So, it’s about how he can impact the game and impact the takeaways.”
Settle down, everyone. He didn’t compare him to Gardner. That wouldn’t be fair for any rookie cornerback. Rivera was only mentioning the expectations Gardner faced and how people believe Forbes should lead the NFL in interceptions as a rookie. Essentially, Rivera is saying Forbes’ rookie season shouldn’t be judged solely by his number of interceptions.