Kansas City, MO - Emmanuel Forbes Jr. became the highest-drafted cornerback from Mississippi State since Walt Harris was drafted 13th overall by the Bears in 1996 as the Washington Commanders selected him with the 16th pick.
Forbes, a junior from Grenada, Mississippi, was the second cornerback selected in the 2023 NFL Draft after Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon who went fifth to the Seahawks. Forbes is the 16th Mississippi State player to be selected in the first round since the start of the Super Bowl era.
"It was real exciting," Forbes said about the moment he was selected. "It's a life changing event, and I'm just ready to get started and get with the team."
Mississippi State has now had five players selected in the first round dating back to 2019. Forbes joins defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (Titans, 19th - 2019), defensive end Montez Sweat (Commanders, 26th - 2019), safety Jonathan Abram (Raiders, 27th - 2019), and left tackle Charles Cross (Seahawks, 9th - 2022).
Forbes joins an impressive group of former Bulldog cornerbacks in the NFL including his teammate if two years Martin Emerson (Browns), five-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay (Eagles), and Cameron Dantzler (Commanders).
Forbes will team up with former Bulldogs Sweat and Dantzler in Washington’s defense and follows in the footsteps of Mississippi State great Fred Smoot who was selected in the second round of the 2001 Draft by Washington. Smoot spent seven years with the franchise and hauled 18 interceptions during his time in the nation’s capital.
The class of 2020 four-star recruit spent three seasons in Starkville and racked up 150 tackles, 20 pass breakups, and six interceptions. During his junior season, Forbes totaled six interceptions and three pick-sixes and set the FBS record for pick-sixes in a career with six.
"I'm a ballhawking physical cornerback, honestly, and I'm gonna get the ball. I'm gonna go score with it," Forbes said. "That's something I pride myself on and I plan to keep doing it in Washington."
The biggest knock on Forbes was his size, having weighed in at 166 pounds at the combine, but Commanders head coach Ron Rivera valued his ability to create turnovers and his coverage skills for his defense.
"It's the takeaways first and foremost. That's one of the things that really stood out for us," Rivera said. "That was one thing we needed to step up on, and this is a young man that is a takeaway machine. He does a heck of a job in man coverage. A great job with his zone coverage, so a lot of the things he does fits very well with the way we play, with the style we play. Analytically speaking, when you look at the metrics, look at the numbers, a lot of it pointed to him as being one of our top choices."
Forbes finishes his college career having racked up numerous accolades. In 2022 he was named to the All-SEC First Team and was a Consensus All-American after being an All-SEC Second Team performer as a sophomore in 2021. During his debut season in 2020, he was named a Freshman All-American and to the SEC’s All-Freshman team.
