The Seattle Seahawks might turn out to have had the best draft class of 2025. The rookie group is deep and talented, and as it turns out, versatile.
This is especially true when it comes to safety (or whatever Seattle wants him to be), Nick Emmanwori. Fans knew that the rookie had Kam Chancellor's size and was even faster than the Seahawks legend, but no one could have guessed how high his football IQ was, too.
His athletic prowess and easy adaptability have Seattle working Emmanwori in at different spots. Sure, in organized team activities (OTAs), he lines up at safety and sometimes in the slot, but he is getting some work at a different position, and it's a bit unexpected. He has been running with the edge rush group as well.
Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori getting some work with the edge rushers
He isn't just getting some formational reps in, either. He got a number of actual snaps in drills. In college, the Swiss Army knife of a player was not often asked to rush passers. In three seasons, he was credited with 44 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
But, clearly, head coach Mike Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde don't want to pigeonhole the rookie into only being a safety. If he can help the team in other ways, the coaching staff is not going to be afraid to use him in that way.
One wonders, for instance, whether Chancellor would have gotten some use at edge rusher if he had been playing under Macdonald.
Of course, this is only OTAs we are talking about, and when real games begin, maybe Macdonald and Durde are a bit more conservative in how they line Emmanwori up. But Macdonald has historically loved to disguise his pre-snap alignments, and the versatility of Emmanwori is only going to help with that.
The safety's fellow players have raved about his approach in practice and how quickly he catches on to what is being asked of him.
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon said, "Obviously, the size and his speed (stand out) but his ball knowledge, he’s a smart kid. I think he’s going to catch on to the defense very easily. Once he does it and once he gets comfortable doing it, I think there’s no limit for him."
The Seahawks coaching staff certainly is not going to limit him. The rookie was a steal of a draft pick, too. After some projected him to go in the first round, but he was still around at the beginning of Day 2, the Seahawks traded up from pick 52 to 35 and chose Emmanwori.
This was after Seattle addressed its biggest need by taking offensive lineman Grey Zabel in round one. By the end of their rookie seasons, Seattle's top two draft choices might prove to be long-term excellent players at the respective positions. For Emmanwori, this might mean more than one spot.