Washington selects safety Darrick Forrest in round 5
May 1, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Washington selected University of Cincinnati safety Darrick Forrest with the 19th pick in round 5 of the NFL draft, number 163 overall. Forrest, who hails from Columbus, Ohio, stands 6’0” and weighs 206 pounds. He spent a total of 4 years at Cincinnati, including 3 seasons as a full-time starter, playing in 49 games and starting 36. During that time, he made a total of 200 tackles, including 126 solo and 4.5 for loss, and 6 interceptions. In 2020, Forrest played and started 10 games, with 40 tackles, including 31 solo and 1 for loss, and made 2 interceptions.
Forrest had an outstanding pro day, running the 40 yard dash in an unofficial 4.38 seconds, with 21 bench press reps at 225 pounds, and jumping 39 inches in the vertical leap and 11’0” in the standing broad jump. He was considered to be the leader of Cincinnati’s defense and is viewed as having quality leadership characteristics. Scouts see him as being a fundamentally sound safety in most areas, with enough versatility to play in a variety of schemes, although some believe he’s a best fit for a split-back zone system such as cover 2. He’s not known for being an aggressive player. Analysts noted that Forrest has a few missed tackles on his film. Forrest known to be good near the line of scrimmage, with man coverage being a weak point in his game. Forrest may not be a true starting single-high free safety, but can probably play almost any other role for Washington.
Washington’s safety group currently consists of the high-priced Landon Collins, who was Washington’s starter in the strong safety role in 2019 before missing the 2020 season due to injury, 2020 seventh round pick Camren Curl, who was a revelation in relief of Collins, starting free safety Deshazor Everett, plus backups and special teamers Troy Apke and Jeremy Reaves. It’s not clear that Forrest can step right in as a starter in the free safety role given his skills and limitations, and either Curl or Collins will start at strong safety. Therefore, Forrest’s 2021 destiny may be as a core special teamer as he continues to develop and is able to carve out a specific role on the defense going forward.