2023 NFL Draft: Emmanuel Forbes - Mississippi State Cornerback

Emmanuel Forbes - Mississippi State

Strengths:

1. Scheme Versatility - Forbes is a smart player who will play well in any scheme. He is a great press man corner and zone corner as long as he lines up on the outside. He has great play recognition and ball skills from any type of coverage.

2. Ball Skills - Six pick sixes to go along with his 14 total interceptions and 20 PBUs over his last three years is extremely impressive. While some interceptions just end up in his hands, others are from him reading and recognizing the play, then being aggressive and confident enough to make a play on the ball. He has production upside from any scheme, and can do so without risking a big play over the top or allowing unnecessary separation.

3. Contact - Forbes has great length, and understands how to use his length to disrupt a route at the line and even beyond. He is a physical player (with a bit of a temper) who is not afraid to keep his hands on receivers throughout the duration of a route. This physicality does not translate to the run game or tackling in general, but he is a great press man corner because of it.

Weaknesses:

1. Downfield Breaks - He is sticky until he gets downfield. If a receiver makes a break beyond 10-15 yards downfield, Forbes consistently leaves him wide open for a brief period.

2. Size/Speed - 180lbs and a 4.59 40-yard-dash are not typical metrics for an NFL cornerback. He lacks the size, speed, and athleticism to be considered in the first round of the NFL Draft.

3. Tackling - With eight missed tackles on the season, Forbes needs to work on his tackling. He has decent success when wrapping up, but often catapults himself leading with his shoulder and will make no impact on the play if he misses.

Grade: Early-Mid Second

Pro Comparison: Sidney Jones

Jones was a bit faster, but Forbes is a more fluid mover and considerably better at the line in tight press.

Film Notes:

Texas A&M (10/01/2022)

A bit clunky on initial hip flip in press. Playing mostly in off coverage. Very good length. Initiated contact at the line. Good line contact and comfortable backpedaling, but still looks to hip flip too high. Missed tackle. Allows separation underneath due to slow hip flip. Appears very lanky. Excellent contact to slow the route and stay with the receiver down the boundary. Good bump on receiver in zone before promptly picking up second man. Great mirroring in press. Late hip flip when contact does nothing. Decent footwork in press, despite not being as smooth. Good coverage towards boundary. Great footwork again on inside route. Good ball skills after closing from off coverage. Could probably play single-high safety if asked. Good plant in off coverage at the break. Mirroring and footwork on hip rotation are both clean. Great spacing throughout zone, both reading the quarterback and knowing where receivers are on the field. Got hips turned the wrong way on false move. Stayed on his man underneath, but may have gotten away with a slight hold (difficult to tell). Potentially playing a bit too soft in his boundary zone. Good immediate turn and run, but lost contact at the break. Interception came from good focus and reactions, but should not have happened. Immediate pickup when someone enters his zone. Pick six again came when receiver gained a step after a downfield break. He bobbled a pass thrown right at his chest before catching it. Consistently closes from off and zone coverage. Uses length well at the line in tight press most of the time. Did not really see soft press this game.

Alabama (10/22/2022)

Smooth hip turns, but slightly late on multiple reps. Line contact would have prevented this. Good base for tackle, but clearly a very light player. Very sticky until downfield break. Consistently poor deep coverage if a break is beyond 15 yards across his tape. Good bump in shallow zone before switching targets. Good hip flip and acceleration from soft press to stay with his man, although he appears to be in full stride. Can click and close well decently from zone. Great length at line. Sticky in short area situations. Missed contact and got burned. Better at deep coverage from zone. Good plant and sudden acceleration to step up in the run game. Immediate acceleration is impressive for someone who lacks top-end speed and is built the way he is. Comfortable pickup on staggered receivers. Excellent zone pickup again. Smooth hips this game in space, flipping multiple times throughout routes efficiently.

Kentucky (10/15/2022)

Comfortable backpedaling and making contact from soft press. Picks up man well in zone. Could not pull off block. Held in proceeding block. Playing both sides of the field. Coverage was incredible with good contact and efficient movements to stay at the receiver's hip for the first 10-15 yards, then he did a 360 and left his guy open downfield. While he assumed safety help was coming, it was a poor decision regardless. Arms look ridiculously long. Does not anchor himself for the tackle. Planted to accelerate towards the outside run. Facemask on three step 270 hip flip attempt, which is unsurprising given that he tends to get a bit grabby on difficult pivots downfield. If he kept his feet closer together, he would have stayed with the receiver more easily. Often commits too hard to one side, making it more difficult to stay with a receiver breaking back the opposite direction and often allowing some immediate separation. Good read from zone. Great use of hands and agility to pull off of the block and make the tackle. Allowed touchdown on mesh route. Great contact throughout the duration of the route. Quickly seeing him get heated throughout the game. Looked annoyed earlier, now shoving unnecessarily. Poor open field tackle attempt, leading with his shoulder. Beautiful recognition on the screen, and excellent acceleration for the pick six. Good plant to change direction, but another poor open field tackle attempt. Excellent contact downfield. Subtle downfield movements do not phase him as much as acute downfield breaks. Definitely has a bit of a temper. Slight hop on otherwise very quick hip rotation. Consistently effective coverage along the perimeter from press.

Attributes (Grade/10):

Coverage	Tight Press	8.5
	Soft Press	8
	Off / Squat	8.5
	Zone	9.5

Tight Press: His short area coverage from press is among the absolute best. He uses line contact well, flips his hips with efficient footwork, and has great mirroring early on in the route. His acceleration is great, and he can turn and run across the field as well as down the sideline with most receivers. His has great length for the position, and his slender build has not seemed to have any negative impact regrading play strength at the catch point. The only reason this grade is lower is due to his straight-line speed. If he misses line contact of turns late against a speedster, he is susceptible to getting burned downfield. He also needs to be in full stride when running with faster players, which inhibits his ability to change direction at deeper break points. Staying with receivers from press coverage who break downfield is probably his greatest weakness as a prospect.

Soft Press: He typically elects tight press over soft, but he still makes solid contact a couple of yards off of the line when necessary. Otherwise, he still can turn and run efficiently, staying in the pocket of his opponent. He can maintain contact downfield, but that leads to penalties on occasion when the receiver breaks and Forbes gets a bit grabby to keep up.

Off/Squat: He is excellent in off coverage, with an above average ability to click and close at the first break of his man. He does not run routes for his opponent, but keeps his eyes on the quarterback as if he is in zone instead of reading the receiver. This leads to good ball production and still decent coverage, but he is susceptible to allowing receptions underneath because of this. He does not often give up big plays over the top from off coverage, but could improve when it comes to reading the receiver and anticipating the route specifically.

Zone: Forbes is an excellent zone corner. He spaces very well, picks up new receiving threats efficiently, and closes very well underneath. He may not be the fastest player, but he has decent acceleration, good positioning, and great ball skills. He understands where players are on the field while still being able to read the quarterback, and is just an all-around solid zone corner.

Man	Stickiness	8.5
	Hips	8
	Line Contact	8.5
	Size / Strength	6.5
	Accel / Decel	8

Stickiness: Usually does not give any separation on shorter and simple routes from press. The reason this grade is not elite is because downfield breaks can completely turn him around. When a receiver changes direction beyond 10-15 yards downfield, Forbes often allows a good amount of separation.

Hips: His hips appear to rotate very quickly, but he is not always as low as he could be. He also tends to take steps too far away from his center of gravity, which is exacerbated by his lankiness. His hips could be phenomenal if he consistently stayed low and took smaller steps.

Line Contact: His long arms are excellent for line contact, which is an area where he excels. He misses the receiver altogether a few times throughout his tape, which is very problematic given his speed. If he whiffs and is late to turn or pivot as a result, he can get burned downfield. This does not happen often, but he needs to focus on every play to ensure that this does not happen.

Size/Strength: Although he is the same height and weight as Witherspoon, he is much stronger at the catch point. He appears on tape a taller than he is due to his length, and has incredible ball skills. That said, he is still only 180lbs which shows up when it comes to making the tackle. He can probably afford to gain 10lbs without losing any movement skills given his frame, and could end up gaining even more within the next few years.

Accel/Decel: Very good acceleration for someone who is not overly twitched up. His deceleration could still use a lot of work, which can hurt him in open-field pivots when in full stride. His deceleration from submaximal speeds is still adequate, but gaining a bit of eccentric leg strength and experience with varying route speeds will help him throughout his career, especially in press situations.

Instincts	Anticipation	8.5
	Playmaking	10
	Football Intelligence	8.5

Anticipation: He has great play anticipation and is a really smart zone player all around. This skill has allowed him to jump routes effectively and make plays on the ball. He does not, however, anticipate individual routes from any sort of man coverage, which often allows to much cushion underneath when playing off-man. He does not beat his man to the mark on intermediate routes, but does do a good job adapting while reading the quarterback. This is an area that could easily improve with experience and coaching.

Playmaking: The former wide receiver had six interceptions in 2022, totaling 14 in his three years at Mississippi State. He has six pick sixes in that time, and 20 pass deflections. He makes plays on the ball from both zone and man coverage without sacrificing big plays or separation to do so.

Football Intelligence: He seems to have excellent football awareness all around. The only reason this is not higher is because he does not always foresee downfield breaks. He reads plays well, but not individual routes.

Ball Skills	Hands	9
	Contested Catch	8

Hands: While he had many interceptions, his bobble on an easy pass to his chest indicates that there is slight room for improvement.

Contested Catch: He disrupts the ball well at the catch point despite being only 180lbs. His length allows him to do so, while he also exhibits great ball skills as a whole. He does not have many reps in contested situations against NFL caliber outside receivers, so this grade is merely a projection of how he will fare against NFL receivers who may outweigh him by 40lbs. If he can gain some mass, then this grade could become elite with his aggressive playstyle, physicality, and overall ball skills.

Zone	Route Awareness	5.5
	Discipline	10
	Jumping Routes	9

Route Awareness: This is the only significant knock on his zone coverage grade. He reads the quarterback and anticipates the throw, but does not read the receiver quite as well.

Discipline: He picks up the right target in his zone efficiently with great spacing and movement the majority of the time. He is great at handing off coverage while minimizing the window of opportunity and not allowing anyone to get behind him in the process.

Jumping Routes: Great anticipation when reading the quarterback to then jump routes appropriately. He has great spacing throughout his zone and good acceleration, making it easier for him to do so.

Open Field	Tackling	3.5
	Pursuit	5
	Speed	3

Tackling: Eight missed tackles on the season is dreadful, but his tackle percentage when actually attempting to wrap up as opposed to leading with his shoulder is actually decent.

Pursuit: He takes good angles when necessary, but is not much of a chase and tackle kind of player. He is content letting others make the tackle for him, and only run down guys when absolutely necessary.

Speed: 4.59 40-yard-dash will suppress his draft stock, especially at his weight. This shows on field, with his tendency of allowing space downfield if the receiver plays it correctly. He gets a bit grabby when he cannot keep up with his opponent, and needs good technique to stay on him. He enters full stride early in routes to keep up with receivers, and will get burned if a speedster gets cleanly by him close to the line. If Forbes runs a 4.4 at the combine, he will likely end up as a first round pick.

Full Report:

Emmanuel Forbes is one of the most well-rounded players in this class. He is scheme-versatile, exelling in both man and zone coverage. In press, his length and hip fluidity allow him to jam receivers at the line and match their routes. He is very physical throughout the duration of the route, and is one of the best short area coverage corners in class. In zone, he anticipates throws and reads the quarterback effectively. He is a smart player who understands how to play zone and spaces incredibly well. His ball production is elite with fourteen interceptions in three years, including six pick sixes. With excellent instincts and all-around coverage skills, Forbes is one of the most technical corners in class. What he lacks is size and speed. With long limbs and weighing only 180lbs, he is incredibly slender. He is a poor tackler in terms of results, but his form demonstrates that he may become a better tackler with some additional mass. His 4.59 speed is what suppresses his draft stock the most. A good combine showing will help him tremendously, but his lack of speed appears throughout his tape. He has trouble adjusting to downfield route breaks as he is often in full stride to keep up in the first place. His deceleration needs some work if his linear speed does not improve to account for double moves and downfield breaks. He tends to get a bit grabby when guys blow past him with speed, and he has trouble with faster receivers if he fails to make line contact. To his credit, he allows very few big plays over the top. The only real separation concerns stem from giving too much cushion in off-man coverage. Aside from speed and weight, Forbes is a fantastic well-rounded prospect. His ball production is uncanny, and his scheme versatility is enticing. He is graded as an early to mid second round prospect because of his speed. If his speed was elite, then he may be the first corner off the board. As it stands, his physical limitation may cap his upside in the eyes of scouts who prefer elite traits. That said, any team should be comfortable taking him in the second round.

NFL Projection:

Forbes will likely fall to day two because of his speed. He will earn a job as a starter in training camp, and be a contributor off the bat regardless of scheme with big play upside. If he runs a 4.4 40-yard-dash and can add about 10lbs of muscle to his frame, both of which are very possible, then Forbes could end up as one of the better corners in this deep draft class when all is said and done.