The Seattle Seahawks took a gamble in the 2025 NFL draft by moving up 16 spots in the second round to take Nick Emmanwori. Most likely, the safety should have been a first-round choice for someone, but in the NFL, no player is guaranteed success.
Even in training camp, though, the rookie was showing he had a very high football IQ and was prepared to play any spot head coach Mike Macdonald might want him to on defense. Slot corner, deep safety, edge rusher...Emmanwori was needed to play all, but with no learning curve. The league requires a player to be good no matter their year.
So far, so good. Even though he suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 and missed three games, Emmanwori has played like a four-year veteran. He has 10 quarterback pressures, 16 run stuffs, has allowed just one touchdown pass, but has seven passes broken up. He's done a bit of everything at a high level.
Ernest Jones sums up Seattle Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori perfectly
Speaking with the media ahead of Seattle's Week 14 matchup with the feisty Atlanta Falcons, defensive leader Ernest Jones IV was asked about the rookie, and he had the four perfect words to describe Nick Emmanwori: "He's a freak, man."
Jones expounded on his summation of the safety's play through Week 13 by implying he was in awe that a 6'3" and 200-pound player could do everything well that Macdonald was tasking him with. Emmanwori has lined up in the slot 265 times, but he has lined up in the box 160 times, and directly on the defensive line 46 times.
His versatility is exactly what the Seattle Seahawks were hoping to get when they drafted him with what was essentially the draft selection that the team got from the Pittsburgh Steelers in return for wide receiver DK Metcalf. At this point, it is clear that Seattle needs Emmanwori more than it would have needed Metcalf in 2025.
The rookie helps disguise Macdonald's alignments so teams are constantly guessing if pressure is coming and from where, and who is covering whom. Plus, the potential holes in the running game close quickly because of Emmanwori's presence.
Even Pro Football Focus isn't sure where to grade Nick Emmanwori. The site has the rookie grouped among the Seahawks' cornerbacks, and overall, Emmanwori grades as the 21st-best corner in the NFL. He might grade even higher when PFF eventually moves him to safety, assuming he doesn't end up getting more reps at linebacker one season.
Nick Emmanwori could eventually turn into the same kind of player that Kyle Hamilton is with the Baltimore Ravens. That means a disruptive safety who moves around alignments, forces turnovers, and makes All-Pro teams. That could be as early as next season for the Seattle Seahawks' 2025 draft pick.