Mutant. Hybrid. Unicorn. Nick Emmanwori is all of those and more for the Seattle Seahawks, and the perfect type of player Mike Macdonald loves to utilize to the fullest. The Seahawks' Week 7 20-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs perfectly showcased Emmanwori's skill set.
Overall, the Seahawks defense was unbreakable against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. Brian Fleury had Seattle's defense playing to its best game plan so far this season, and it paid off with a blowout and a much-needed win, moving the Chiefs above .500 to 4-3.
Seattle's defense was too much for the Chiefs' passing and rushing attack, stonewalling everything Mahomes and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid tried to throw at them (missed field goals helped). Several Seahawks defenders came up huge on Sunday, but none more than Emmanwori, who showed again how freakishly dangerous he is.
Nick Emmanwori's hybrid playing style is the Seattle Seahawks best weapon on defense
With one glance at the stat sheet from Sunday, Emmanwori's name doesn't exactly jump out as it did for others. Seahawks safety Ty Okada logged an interception; Ernest Jones IV led the defense with nine total tackles; Derick Hall forced a fumble and had two quarterback hits; and Tyrice Knight posted eight total tackles, second behind Jones, plus a big tackle for loss.
As usual, the Seahawks came from all fronts, and everyone made an impact. That said, what Emmanwori did all over the field when the Chiefs had the football was something special. He finished the game with4 tackles, a pass break-up, and key pressure that forced an interception, but what he did that the stat sheet won't show was massive.
Emmanwori's pass coverage, particularly against Chiefs' speedy wideout Xavier Worthy, was game-changing. He ran stride-for-stride downfield with Worthy and caused a big splash play to die out before anything could happen. That's part of Emmanwori's downfield impact.
Behind the line of scrimmage, Emmanwori got to Mahomes on a scramble, hit him, and forced the eventual interception Okada caught. That play was by far Emmanwori's best of the night, and quite possibly his best of the season. He was everywhere, and the Chiefs offense couldn't break free of him.
Macdonald has an immense advantage playing Emmanwori on any given day because of his versatility. He can play virtually every defensive position—linebacker, safety, corner, and defensive end. After the win over the Chiefs, Seahawks wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba hailed Emmanwori as “the most versatile player in the league.”
There's no question—the entire Seahawks defense deserves credit collectively for shutting down the Chiefs offense. Emmanwori was simply the highlight of the night, and it's partly why the game against the Chiefs was, hands down, Seattle's best defensive performance through seven games this season.
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