Commanders Hope CB Emmanuel Forbes' SEC Competition Will Translate to NFL
The SEC is widely known as the best conference in college football.
The conference has had a representative in the College Football Playoff in each year of its existence since 2014 and has led the country in most players drafted for 17 consecutive years.
In the 2023 NFL Draft, it was no different. The SEC had 62 drafted players, including Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who despite going No. 16 overall, was still the eighth player taken from the conference in the draft. Forbes' competition in the SEC is part of why the Washington Commanders felt compelled to take him so early in the draft.
“Well, you know he's a guy that's played three years in SEC really at the highest level," senior director of player personnel Eric Stokes said. "He's been a terrific player in his own right in that conference. He's seen 'em all, we know the type of receivers that have come out of that conference. And he's always seen all the high level guys. So there was a lot of confidence in terms of just that because again, we've had an ideal of him seeing against top level SEC receivers, guys that are already in our league."
There was a lot of question marks surrounding Forbes, specifically with his weight. At just 166 pounds, Forbes enters the league as one of the lightest players, but his familiarity with the SEC was a pro that outweighed the con.
"He'll have a lot of familiarity right away," Stokes said. "So that really kind of softens a lot of the concerns that you may have in terms of whether it's weight or size. I mean, he's done it and he's been a very productive player.”
While his tests in the SEC have prepared him for the NFL, Forbes will still have some adjusting to do, but the Commanders hope he'll be a step ahead of the rest.
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