Washington Commanders first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes made his NFL debut Friday at the start of the team’s two-day rookie minicamp.
Forbes made his debut in grand fashion, picking off a pass in drills that caught the attention of Washington head coach Ron Rivera.
“Another one was when he jumped a route quickly on the inside and was able to beat the receiver to the spot and make the interception,” Rivera said. “I mean, those are the kind of things, the great anticipation, but then you kind of wonder where it comes from.”
In the following sentence, Rivera noted how Forbes had already applied things he’d learned from coaches to the practice field.
“I was sitting behind him and watching him in meetings, and then I was sitting back watching him during the walkthrough today, and then I watched him with [DBs] Coach [Brent] Vieselmeyer, and as coach was explaining something to him, you can see how attentive he was,” Rivera said. “The questions he was asking, I thought, were really well thought out.”
Courtesy of NBC 4 in Washington, D.C., we have a video of Forbes in action from the weekend’s minicamp.
Our first look at first round pick Emmanuel Forbes on the field for #Commanders rookie minicamp@JPFinlayNBCS will have reports from Ashburn this afternoon @nbcwashington #HTTC pic.twitter.com/RP5GRs8iXf
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) May 12, 2023
Consider Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network impressed.
The twitch and explosion is just coiled up within Emmanuel Forbes’ lower half.
It’s Day 1 of RMC, but the fluidity pops off the screen. So quiet but so sudden with his footwork. pic.twitter.com/Rw9lrQj3ln
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) May 13, 2023
The Commanders open OTAs on May 23 and Forbes will be in attendance with the rest of the team.