"Everybody seems to be excited about Emmanuel Forbes, from what I've heard and who I've talked to and what I've seen," Chris Russell said about the Washington Commanders' first-round draft pick after OTAs.
ESPN's John Keim recently wrote that Forbes had a lot of fans at the first part of the Commanders offseason program, drawing praise from players and coaches for his ability to be around the ball and get his hands on a few passes. "He's got a great anticipation of routes," defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer said, via Keim. "The other thing is you watch him get in and out of breaks. He does a great job. His transition of his feet is so quick."
Listen to Russell's thoughts on Forbes at the 7:30 mark above.
However, with Forbes, there is always the concern about his size. He stands over six feet tall but is a little under 170 pounds. But that small frame shouldn't lead to people underestimating the cornerback, Russell said.
"After watching Emmanuel Forbes at field level from 10-15 yards away, listen it's only practices. We will find out when you have to go against a DK Metcalf or a DeVonta Smith or an AJ Brown or Stefon Diggs, those types of guys. [Forbes is gonna get beat from time to time. He's gonna be outmuscled from time to time, he's going to be outfoxed from time to time. But what you love about him so far... that he plays bigger than 166. He plays 175, 178, 180 maybe. He's tougher and more physical than people realize; than people think a tall, skinny, lanky six-foot-one, 166-pound kid is going to be," Russell said. "He is not necessarily just going to be railroaded and just trucked. And some of that is because he's tough, he's physical, he's got great footwork, great anticipation, great vision, great cuts, great athleticism so that he can close and close on speed faster than maybe, says 200-pound corner would."
Russell said we don't know if all of this will work out, but that there has been a track record of Washington's draft picks being pretty good, pointing to Jamin Davis making a jump, Kam Curl being a solid addition, the early signs of Jahan Dotson, but Ron Rivera has shown that the "best area has been the draft" for the Commanders lately.
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