With the schedule for the 2023 NFL season being released this week, the dust has officially settled on the draft, but there are still reviews, takes, and lessons to be learned from the events of a fortnight ago.
Including this nugget, from one of the universally rated great pick-makers in the league, Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta: The Washington Commanders got a great player in the first round in cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
Speaking to the team's "The Lounge" podcast, DeCosta was asked about what the Ravens were considering picking a cornerback with the No. 22 pick and if they may have been tempted to take Maryland's Deonte Banks (who later went to the New York Giants at No. 24) or Penn State's Joey Porter Jr. (who went with the first pick in Round 2 to the Pittsburgh Steelers).
"It's probably going to go unanswered," DeCosta said. "I will say this. I thought the Commanders did a great job. They took one of my favorite guys in the draft – Emmanuel Forbes.
"We had him come in and visit us. Spent the day with him. Ball hawk. A skinny dude, but just a straight-out baller. Just a good player."
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DeCosta, who is known for trading picks to maximize the value of his team's selections, added that Baltimore may have been willing to trade back and get Forbes later, thinking that if the Mississippi State corner was still on the board at No. 22 then he would fall a few more slots for them to get later.
"He was a guy that we thought was an outstanding player and would have been a guy that we would have considered in the first at some point," he said. "Trade back potentially. Stand pat potentially. He went at 16. That was an aggressive pick, but I think that's going to be a pick that as you look back at the first round, you'll say, 'You know what, that was an awesome draft pick.'"
A slight dig at Ron Rivera and company for an "aggressive pick" and a potential missed opportunity to add value or just slight jealousy over Washington for grabbing a player he really liked?
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