Drew Forbes could be the Cleveland Browns’ most surprising rookie

The Cleveland Browns put together an interesting 2019 draft class, but sixth-round selection Drew Forbes could be the most surprising rookie of the class.

The Cleveland Browns may not have had a first-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, but they seemed to have selected every player that they wanted.

Despite getting the players they wanted, the Browns draft class was met with a lot of questions. Most of those questions occurred because analysts felt the Browns reached in terms of value with their selections.

But one of the players that the Browns received plenty of credit for was offensive lineman Drew Forbes. Coming out of Southeast Missouri State, Forbes was a relatively unknown product. Especially without a combine invite, Forbes was out of the radar for many teams.

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However, as the draft drew near, Forbes started taking visits and grabbed the attention of several teams. After appearing at two Pro Days, Forbes became a hot prospect that many teams around the league wanted to take a longer look at.

Forbes was even the focus of a Sports Illustrated piece by Kalyn Kahler titled Prospect-X. The piece focused on Forbes because it was believed he was the most overlooked prospect in the class and “the draft’s best-kept secret.”

The Browns were the team to land Forbes in the sixth-round of the draft, and during his short time with the team, he is making the organization confident in their selection. According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, the Browns are excited about Forbes and consider him a developmental left tackle, who could end up competing for a starting job at some point.

"The Browns have other backup tackles on the roster such as Kendall Lamm, but Forbes’ stock is rising quickly on this team. If he’s as good as they think he is, he’ll challenge for a starting spot before long. – Cabot, Cleveland.com"

Although Forbes is not expected to make much of an impact as a rookie, he could become the most surprising player coming out of this class. It is not often that sixth-round selections make too much of an impact, but it appears the Browns expect Forbes to do so at some point, whether that’s this season or next season.

With the Browns having Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard as the starting offensive tackles, it allows Forbes a season to sit and develop. And even if one of the starting tackles go down with an injury, the Browns will have Kendall Lamm to take over and not force Forbes into playing time too quickly.

The Browns may have a couple of players from the 2019 NFL Draft who will see significant playing time in 2019. But there appears to be a good chance that Forbes will make an impact for the Browns at some point, and it could make him the most surprising player from the 2019 draft class.