No one has ever questioned Emmanuel Forbes' ability to play football, but his size has always been held against him. He's objectively small for the sport, but still managed to accomplish enough to where the Washington Commanders drafted him with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Forbes' rookie year was rough, to be nice. He got benched at one point and things never really seemed to click throughout the year. More size concerns were brought up during the offseason when a photo of a very small Forbes made the rounds on social media.
There was also the hiring of Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr., respectively, to the head coach and defensive coordinator positions. Those guys love big corners - guys that are usually at least 6-foot-1 and are right at, if not bigger, than 200-pounds. That's obviously a far cry from 173-pound presence Forbes provides the Commanders' roster.
But, according to Quinn, Forbes tacked on a ton of weight over the offseason. 15 pounds, to be exact. Still, Quinn knows Forbes has a lot to prove.
"You want to hit the markers along the way, right," Quinn said when asked about Forbes' progress over the offseason. "For him, [it's] adding more size, and so to be, 15 or 18 pounds heavier than he was a year ago, that's a big step in the right direction. It's a matter of hitting all the spots and tackling that part of things, that's a big piece of it.
"But until you go through some of the games, you're not really able to demonstrate that, but you can show markers. My body feels different. I'm stronger. You know, those are things that that lead up to that, but you still have to go do it."
It'll be very interesting to see how the weight affects Forbes' game, who is known to be very quick and elusive. The extra pounds will certainly help him hold up better against bigger receivers and in run defense, but will it take away from his explosiveness, at all?
And, per the Washington Post's Nicki Jhabvala, Forbes actually confirmed he gained 17-pounds when he spoke with reporters after practice.
Forbes and the entire Commanders secondary has plenty to prove during training camp and in 2024
The starting cornerback positions are totally up for grabs, outside of the nickel position, which belongs to rookie second-rounder, Mike Sainristil. Forbes will be competing with Benjamin St-Juste and Michael Davis for a starting perimeter job, as the secondary looks to bounce back from a dismal 2023 season.
It remains to be seen where Forbes ultimately shakes out. Per reports, he was running with the 1s at times during camp, while Davis was behind him and St-Juste. Quinn has specifically said to not take things in absolute fashion based off one day - this whole camp will be a process, throughout, so there will be different guys mixed in at different times in order to find the best lineup(s). If I had to guess, Forbes wins one of the outside spots, opposite Davis.
Still, it has to be encouraging and confidence-boosting for Forbes to get an early tase of starter life. Now, he has to go out and show that he has what it takes to be a plus starter for the Commanders.
