New Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes was a human highlight reel during his three years at Mississippi State. Forbes had 14 interceptions and returned six of them for touchdowns.
One of those interception returns for a touchdown really stood out to Washington senior director of player personnel Eric Stokes.
It was when Forbes intercepted a screen pass from Kentucky quarterback Will Levis and returned it for a touchdown. That one play highlighted so many of Forbes’ traits, from his speed, anticipation and timing.
“I would probably say [Emmanuel] Forbes to a certain degree because the play that he made against Kentucky when he intercepted the screen was probably one of the more fantastic plays that I’ve seen in a number of years,” Stokes answered after he was asked if there was one player’s tape he watched over and over.
“When I saw that, I was like, wow, and that just had me just getting him more and more and more. We know about the size. It’s been well documented, but I think anytime, too when you kind of come across someone with those dimensions, you do have to put them under a little bit different level of scrutiny. In terms of my process, I mean, I grinded Forbes.”
Here’s that play.
Eric Stokes on watching tape of Emmanuel Forbes: "When he intercepted the screen (vs. Kentucky) was probably one of the more fantastic plays that I've seen in a number of years. … that just had me just getting (into) him more and more and more."pic.twitter.com/pQy0EaBng7
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) April 30, 2023
That’s against a future NFL quarterback.
While many will focus on Forbes’ size, his playmaking ability in the secondary was second to none in this draft class, and that’s something the Washington defense has been sorely lacking.
If Forbes brings those types of plays to the Commanders in 2023, he’ll be one of the NFL’s top rookies.
