If you look at the Seattle Seahawks official depth chart, you’ll find Nick Emmanwori listed as the nickel back. Depth charts don’t always capture the reality on the field, and under Mike Macdonald, they are almost meaningless. No coach relies on versatility and deception to the extent that Macdonald does, especially when it comes to his secondary.
The closest thing the Seahawks had to a “base” defense in 2025 was a modified 4-2-5, with Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II controlling the interior line. A rotation of edge rushers, led by Demarcus Lawrence at times, played traditional defensive end roles, and at other times, played more akin to outside linebackers. Drake Thomas and Ernest Jones IV were the interior linebackers.
In the defensive backfield, seven players mixed and matched their way through the season, adjusting for injuries the whole year. Nominally, three were cornerbacks, and four were safeties. In reality, two of them played everywhere.
Because two of those seven left via free agency this offseason, one of the fascinating things to watch as training camp gets into full gear will be whether those 2025 roles appear to be changing.
Seattle Seahawks 2026 defense could feature a revolving door at slot corner
In 2025, when Seattle used a slot corner, it was almost always either Devon Witherspoon or Nick Emmanwori. The fact that these are Seattle’s two most athletically gifted defensive backs tells you something immediately. Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde value the position immensely.
This is the modern NFL. Gone are the days when the slot receiver was the third option – a smaller, quicker player who could work the middle of the field with short and intermediate routes. These days, that slot could just as easily be Mike Evans as Julian Edelman. Consequently, the slot corner is no longer a smaller, quicker guy.
He certainly requires the agility to keep up with more traditional slots like Indianapolis’ Josh Downs, but he has to be able to stand up against bigger veterans like Keenan Allen or the Seahawks own Cooper Kupp.
Most importantly, he has to be able to tackle, because he is likely to be in the middle of the action on most plays. That’s one reason why in 2025, Witherspoon and Emmanwori got the assignment more often than not. From the middle of the field, they could rush the passer or drop deep. They could go anywhere. Having two such players on the field made Seattle's back end very hard to read pre-snap.
The other five backs stayed at home more. Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen were almost always on the perimeter. Coby Bryant, who began his career as Seattle’s slot corner, played a more traditional deep safety role, along with both Ty Okada and Julian Love.
Macdonald prefers two-deep zones with tight tackling. Even so, all three safeties were comfortable lining up in the box as a third linebacker on occasion.
With Bryant and Woolen gone, little may change. Day two draft picks Bud Clark and Julian Neal may simply step into their roles. But Macdonald is always looking for a new wrinkle.
Signing Noah Igbinoghene was the first sign. The former number one pick has struggled on the perimeter through his career, but he has developed into a pretty good slot presence.
Last week, when the Seahawks lost Tyrone Broden to injury, they auditioned several new corners before signing Brandon Johnson. Broden, who was attempting a switch from wide receiver to corner, is 6’5” and was almost certainly destined to play on the outside, the way Riq Woolen did last year. But Johnson profiles as a classic slot corner.
John Schneider chose Michael Dansby with his last pick in this year’s draft. He, too, is better suited to play the slot than the other two cornerbacks Schneider selected earlier. Then there is Bud Clark, another gifted athlete who played both deep safety and slot corner in college.
Johnson and Dansby are most likely going to be fighting it out for a spot on the back end of the roster, relying on special teams play as much as anything. But it will be very interesting to see how Igbinoghene and Clark line up throughout camp, and to see how often they take snaps with the starters. Emmanwori is currently on the PUP list, which means there are reps up for grabs.
I wouldn’t completely rule out Dansby and Johnson either. Josh Jobe is a textbook example of how Macdonald doesn’t care where you begin. If you can play, you will get on the field. But it is more like that Clark or Igbinoghene shows up at slot corner. And if that happens, it feels like Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori even more, which is a scary proposition for opposing offenses.
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