After every draft, particularly the first round, NFL coaches insist that their team got the guy they wanted.
Always.
And often, it's true.
Thus it came as no surprise that late Thursday night Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said exactly that, voicing his excitement for new Washington cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. Rivera used the 16th pick in the NFL draft to take the speedster out of Mississippi State, and the coach believes in the elite playmaker.
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"When you looked at things that we talked about in terms of improving, getting better at, one of the things that we weren't as good as we needed to be as a defense was takeaways," Rivera said. "This guy, this young man fit the bill and he did it at a very high level."
Forbes produced turnovers at an exceptional rate, grabbing 14 interceptions in three college seasons and breaking the NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns.
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The speed is crazy, too. Forbes was clocked at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
There's a lot to like about Washington taking Forbes at 16, and once the young man starts talking, it's easy to see how he impressed Rivera and the Commanders' brass.
"I'm going to bring a guy that's going to have a great attitude, come in and work every day, just helping the team win games and hopefully my game is turning the ball over and create a lot of turnovers for the Washington Commanders,” Forbes said after his selection.
Rivera clearly hopes for the same thing.
The Commanders grabbed only nine interceptions last year, which ranked in the bottom five of the NFL. That lack of turnovers hurt the defense, which though it performed well as a group, did not excel in explosive plays.
Forbes might help change that. He certainly produced big plays in college, but there are also fair questions about the selection.
To start, Forbes is light for an NFL player. At the combine, he measured 6-foot-1 but weighed in at just 166 pounds. That's among the skinniest players ever taken in the first round.
Forbes has heard the questions about his slight frame and said it doesn't stress him out.
"They didn't really care too much about my weight because I can play ball. That's all that matters and it never affected my game, so it really didn't play a factor.”
His durability in the ultra-tough SEC should be noted. He doesn't miss games and he doesn't seem to deal with the soft tissue injuries that sometimes plague burners.
"When you watch his tape you don't know that he's that light. He doesn't look like that on tape. He doesn't play like that. He's been durable. He hasn't missed a game because of an injury in three years," Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew said of Forbes. "So, he's been durable in the SEC and he's played a lot of football. So, that's something that we don't really concern ourselves with."
Good for the Commanders for addressing the issue, or non-issue. And the tape supports the theory that weight won't be a concern for Forbes.
There's another question the Commanders can't answer, or at least won't.
For the last two drafts, Washington clearly identified their top choice in the first round and eschewed what could be considered more conventional choices.
Two years ago that came with the Jamin Davis pick, a solid linebacker prospect from Kentucky drafted ahead of Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. In two seasons, Davis has improved to a solid player after a rough rookie year while Owusu-Koramoah looks like more of an impact player, though he's dealt with numerous injuries.
The jury remains out on the decision, but it set a pattern.
Last season, Washington elected to trade out of the 11th pick where receivers Chris Olave and Jameson Williams were available. The Commanders moved back to 16 and drafted Jahan Dotson out of Penn State, and in the process, got extra picks that later turned into running back Brian Robinson and quarterback Sam Howell.
It's too soon to tell exactly how that trade will turn out. Olave looks like a future star after a rookie year with more than 1,000 yards receiving despite just nine starts. Dotson also had a very promising rookie season, scoring seven touchdowns, but missed five games with a hamstring injury.
Robinson looks like a solid back for sure, and if Howell delivers on his potential, the trade will be an absolute home run.
The Dotson decision coming on the heels of the Davis decision proved that Washington will follow their draft board regardless of what unfolds elsewhere in the draft.
That showed again Thursday night when Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez surprisingly was available when the Commanders picked at 16. Gonzalez had largely been rated by talent evaluators as the second-best cornerback available this year.
Washington stuck with their board and took Forbes, and with the next pick New England took Gonzalez. The pair of rookie corners will now be compared, fair or not, for at least the next few seasons.
In football, guts matter. And Ron Rivera has shown guts in his first-round draft picks.
Under his guidance, the Washington organization has now proven in three straight drafts that conventional wisdom won't dictate their selections. And that belief could pay off handsomely, perhaps as soon as this fall.
It also might not.
Good drafts help organizations win. Great drafts build championship teams. Bad drafts get people fired.
Sooner or later, answers will come for the big decisions in Washington.
