The Patriots met with the majority of the top cornerbacks in this year’s NFL Draft at the Combine earlier this month. Now it looks like they want to get to know at least one of them a little better.

According to Jon Sokoloff of WCBI News in Starkville, Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes has a visit “coming up,” with the Patriots after meeting with them in Indianapolis. There are at least seven other teams planning on meeting with Forbes in the near future as well including the Eagles, Cowboys, Steelers, and Titans.

• Given the Patriots have targeted players in the draft with impressive production and impressive physical testing in recent years, it’s not surprising they’re interested in Forbes. When it comes to production, he has every other cornerback in this class beat. In 35 career games, he recorded 20 pass breakups and 14 interceptions, returning six of those for touchdowns. Last year alone, he had 10 PBUs and six interceptions – with three pick-sixes – in 12 games.

  Forbes back those numbers up with an impressive showing at the Combine. He ran a 4.35-second 40, which was tied for the third-fastest among cornerbacks.

  The biggest knocks on Forbes game right now are his size and aggressiveness. Although he’s 6-foot-1, he measured in at 166 pounds, which may give teams pause when it comes to his tackling ability, especially when he’s working against bigger receivers. He also tends to bite on double-moves, but that’s something that can be coached.

• Forbes is currently projected to be an early second-round pick this April. Keep in mind though, his projection is bumped down with it being such a strong and deep cornerback class. In last year’s draft, he probably would have been a mid-to-late first-round pick.

  In total, six different cornerbacks have confirmed meetings with the Patriots. For a full list of the team’s pre-draft meetings, check out our pre-draft meeting tracker.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

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