Emmanuel Forbes 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scouting report for the Mississippi State CB

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech

Emmanuel Forbes, a top 200 recruit in 2020, immediately became a starter for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and was one of the most productive cornerbacks in the country through his first two years. He intercepted eight and broke up another 10 passes combined, with three pick-sixes his freshman campaign.

He was named Freshman All-Southeastern Conference and second-team All-SEC in 2021, before making first-team all-conference and second-team All-American last year, when he put up career highs in picks (six) and PBUs (10) and three more pick-sixes, tying him the record for the most in FBS history (six).

Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State

6-foot-1, 170 pounds; junior

Positives

+ Has that really lanky build with 32¼-inch arms, but brings plenty of experience in off-zone coverage and great bounce to his step

+ Does tremendous job of anticipating breaks and not overrunning those points, as you see his feet stutter and redirect his momentum

+ His ability to click-and-close for a guy above 6 feet is rare

+ Yet he can also glide and mirror guys from soft-press alignments, where he times up when he stabs at their chest well to slow them down as they commit to the release

+ Quick accelerator to run with receivers down the field and he can flip his hips in pretty impressive fashion for his height, with the 4.35 speed to stick with sprinters

+ Does well to maintain contact and stay in the hip pocket of guys while feeling routes develop throughout

+ You see a bunch of coverage snaps down the sideline, where quarterbacks end up throwing the ball out of bounds, because receivers run themselves out of space

+ All six of his interceptions last season came in man-coverage, which speaks to his insane ability to read and make plays on the ball in aggressive fashion

+ When tasked with deep zone responsibility, Forbes makes sure he widens with along with the wideout and keeps vision on him, to not get too far ahead as they break towards the quarterback

+ Really sits there between routes when offenses try to stretch his assignment and has the short-area explosion combined with those long arms to disrupt the catch point

+ Shows great feel for when to gather and read the quarterback’s eyes, yet not allowing windows between him and his safeties to expand too far

+ On 56 targets last year, he only allowed 31 completions for 284 yards and three touchdowns, while picking off six passes and breaking up another 10 (430 total coverage snaps)

+ His general instincts and football IQ show up all over his tape, while the insane ball production matches up

+ When matched up with a receiver targeted on screen passes, his explosion and slipperiness allow him to elude the blocker and stop for no yardage

+ Pick-sixed a tunnel screen in the 2022 Kentucky game in highly impressive fashion

+ Quick to drive upfield and shut down plays out in the flats, clamping the legs of ball-carriers with those long branches

+ Looking to lock out with the inside arm and get around receivers in order to shut down runs towards the edge

+ Has some suddenness to get around aggressive blockers

+ Not afraid to shoot into the backfield as an unblocked defender on the edge and chopping down much bigger running backs

Negatives

– You see a lot of lanky corners excel in the NFL these days, but this guy looks like a daddy longlegs, weighing in at just 166 pounds at the combine (zero percentile)

– Similar to wide receivers rounding their breaks, Forbes has a tendency to kind of curve his path rather than sticking his foot in the ground as he tries to match breaks when flipped vertically, which enables a window to fit the ball into

– When opposing receiver gets him to fully commit his hips and then slides across his face, it takes a little bit to bring his base around

– Lacks the play strength to really fight through and off blocks, where he has to try balancing his slender frame with landing punches with those long arms – not always to great effect

– Way too often you see this guy fly past the screen, as he just dives at the legs of ballcarriers, because he doesn’t have the mass to wrestle down guys one-on-one, Missed eight of 54 tackling attempts this season

I have no doubt that if this guy at least shows up at 180 pounds and runs the way he does in Indy, he’s going in the first round. Considering how historically slender he is, I have a tough time justifying that, without having a feel for how much weight he may be able to add without compromising what he does in coverage.

Nevertheless, even if he loses 5-10 percent of his burst and speed as he adds about 10 pounds, that’s a high-level starter in the league. You just can’t teach the feel for the position and the play-making skills this guy brings to the table.

I’ve heard people say “D.K. Metcalf will just shrug him off,” but I want to see him play over the flanker on the field side anyway, where he’s playing off more regularly and can get his hands on the ball, rather than being isolated with bigger X-bodies.

Grade: Late second round

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