'Fearless' Emmanuel Forbes Finding Comfort in Commanders Defense

The Washington Commanders' preseason victory over the Baltimore Ravens featured an impressive tackle by first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who continues to prove he can play above his weight class.

Washington Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes started outside left against a condensed formation from the Baltimore Ravens on 3rd and 1 during Monday night's preseason game at FedEx Field.

Forbes watched, dissected and reacted to Baltimore's outside toss to Melvin Gordon, sliced through the pulling blockers and dropped the veteran running back behind the line of scrimmage for a big third down stop.

.@Commanders first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes with the 3rd down stop 💪

📺: #BALvsWAS on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/L9mPiySUki pic.twitter.com/9rh74XqKef

— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2023

It was, in a sense, a message of Forbes' arrival ... and one that illustrates all that he's about, even with his wiry 6-0, 180-pound build giving up 35 pounds to Gordon, who's rushed for over 6,400 yards across eight professional seasons.

But the declaration by Washington's first-round draft pick wasn't new to or unforeseen by coach Ron Rivera and staff - they watched it happen time and again while Forbes was at Mississippi State ... and anticipate seeing it plenty more in the years to come.

"Believe me, it's the same stuff we saw on college tape," Rivera said. "I mean, that's one of the things that you know - he's fearless. He'll throw his body around and he does a nice job."

Beyond the natural toughness that Forbes carries with him, he's firmly committed to playing for a bigger cause - the teammates around him.

Forbes noted the tight-knit bond forming on Washington's defense, as he and his teammates are around each other every day and love playing alongside one another, creating a positive environment inside the locker room.

"I'm loving the defense," Forbes said. "I'm loving the way we fly around every day in practice, and we just continue to get better."

That's largely the name of the game for defenses - and players - around the league entering the regular season: consistent ascension with the aim of having better days ahead.

And for Forbes and the rest of the Commanders defense, that certainly appears to be the case ... one "fearless," aggressive, love-filled day at a time.

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