Raiders NFL Draft Prospect: Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State

The Las Vegas Raiders are preparing for the NFL Draft, which is now less than a month away.

Between now and then, the Raiders will evaluate as many draft prospects as they can, trying to determine which players they might be able to select in each round and which players fit their long-term vision for the future.

The Raiders are set to make 12 selections in this year’s draft, tied for the most in the NFL with the Houston Texans. This bodes well for them as they have multiple holes they would like to address.

One of those holes is in the secondary, namely the cornerback position. The Raiders have added a few cornerbacks during free agency, but this is one of the best cornerback classes in recent memory, and they could find a corner or two who could stabilize that position for years to come if they’re lucky.

One of the corners in that deep class is Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes. Forbes is a long and lanky defensive back who was one of the top coverage players in the SEC last season.

Look closely at Forbes and see if he would fit in the Silver and Black.

For the Bulldogs last season, Forbes posted 46 total tackles, `10 pass breakups, and six interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns. He was a consensus All-American and was named First-Team All-SEC.

As a prospect, Forbes’ size might bother general managers. He weighs only 170 pounds, lacking the ideal playing size for the position at the professional level. However, that doesn’t stop him from being an aggressive tackler, as he’s known for his hard-hitting and excellent coverage skills.

He sometimes gets overaggressive in coverage, which results in biting on double moves and getting beat off the line of scrimmage. His weight sometimes leads to being outmatched physically as well.

Forbes is a great athlete, running a blazing 4.35 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He is projected as a potential first-round pick and may not be available when the Raiders selection comes up at No. 39. If he does fall there; however, General Manager Dave Ziegler should not think twice.

The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period began at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.

The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this offseason.

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