This goes for Witherspoon too…but can someone show me a list of the good starting outside CB’s that weigh even under 190? It’s not a long list…not saying it’s the end all be all, but it’s definitely not ideal
No it’s definitely not ideal. I know there is concern about teams running at them, and the teams will know better than us how much it will hurt in the run game.
But I don’t expect it to matter much in coverage. Forbes and Witherspoon (especially Witherspoon) are both aggressive guys who use their length well. Forbes in particular gives receivers real issues with those ridiculously long arms.
So really, I don’t have many questions about them in coverage, but I’m not sure how they will respond to teams running at them. I do know that both guys will definitely hit you. Neither one of them shies away from contact. They aren’t scared of it… which is a big thing. Not all guys are like that.
As far as comps for them… really, I haven’t seen a bunch of long, thin guys even coming out of college. It isn’t like a bunch have tried and failed because of weight. Most lighter college cornerbacks aren’t just light… they’re short too, which is a complete different thing than Forbes and Spoon. Those guys likely failed because of lack of length… not because of their weight.
So really, there aren’t a lot of comps because college football just isn’t producing guys with this kind of length who are thin.
I know that Nashon Wright is long and thin. He isn’t in the same universe as far as coverage skills as these two, but he hasn’t had a lot of problems in the run game. The problem he’s had is that he keeps letting receivers catch the ball. Forbes and Spoon don’t have that problem.
Also, Sauce Gardner is pretty long and thin. He measured at the combine at 6-3, 189 pounds. That is two inches taller than Forbes and about 3 inches taller than Witherspoon. From that, you can tell that Witherspoon is a little bit thicker than Sauce, and Forbes is built pretty close to Gardner.
Obviously, Gardner is the best rookie CB in years, so he was a resounding success, despite being rail thin.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know… but I’m pretty sure that both Forbes and Witherspoon will not only succeed in the NFL, but will thrive. Their coverage is just so good. Forbes has a ridiculous arm length, just like Gardner. That gives WR’s real problems, as Sauce showed last year. Forbes and Spoon just give receivers fits when they’re trying to catch the ball.
The tidbits that I hear On the NFL Network about Forbes and Witherspoon are generally that the teams, scouts and GM’s love both of these guys, and that both will go in round 1 (with Spoon the 1st CB taken). Yesterday, I saw a segment on “
5 guys who are going to be drafted earlier than you think”, and the first guy they talked about was Forbes.
Now, that doesn’t mean that they’ll succeed for sure… but it does mean that teams really like them and that their lack of weight isn’t very much of a worry for teams.
Last thing I’ll say:
Rick Spielman, most recently the GM of the Vikings was asked about Forbes and if his weight bothered him, and he said not at all. He said that what you have a corner for is to keep the receiver from catching the ball, and Forbes is great at that. He said, “
All I know is that you point to a receiver and tell Forbes, ‘don’t let that guy catch the ball’ and he doesn’t.”
Like I said, I don’t think teams are as worried about their weight as much as fans and media are.
I’ve come to grips with their weight, speaking for myself, and I’d love to get the chance to let either one play and learn the game from Diggs and Gilmore while they put on a little more weight. I think they will be very good. Neither one of them makes it easy to catch a ball in their neighborhood.
