On the first play of the NFC championship, the Los Angeles Rams' Kyren Williams ran left for four yards. Nothing special. Over on the right side of the alignment, Rams' rookie tight end Tarrance Ferguson locked up with Seattle Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwori.
Neither figured into the play, but when it was over, Ferguson gave Emmanwori a shove, and Emmanwori responded with a low-key head butt. The message was clear. Nick Emmanwori was ready to play.
I’m calling him a safety because that is how the league views him, but Seattle’s star rookie lines up all over the field. He was on the defensive left edge on that first play. Then he was a slot corner on the left, and he closed the opening three-and-out as a slot on the right. When the Rams next got the ball, Emmanwori was a linebacker and a perimeter corner on consecutive snaps.
So on the first five plays from scrimmage, Nick Emmanwori lined up in five different positions.
One Seattle Seahawks defensive rookie keeps getting better and better
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grades, Nick Emmanwori was Seattle’s best defensive player… by a mile. He graded as Seattle’s best coverage defender and also their best run defender.
Not only that. He was graded significantly higher than any Rams’ defender as well. In fact, the only two players on the field who ended with higher grades than Nick Emmanwori were Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua – the two best wide receivers in the NFL this season.
Nacua had a great game, but the two times he was covered by Emmanwori, he caught one ball for six yards. The other target was a picture-perfect pass breakup by the rookie. That play came immediately after he had fought off a block from 6’6”, 250-pound tight end Davis Allen and stuffed Williams for no gain as the running back tried to bounce outside.
When he was drafted, we said that Nick Emmanwori would one day be Mike Macdonald’s version of Kyle Hamilton – the standout do-everything safety Seattle’s coach had in Baltimore. You are starting to hear analysts make that comparison more and more as the season goes on.
Emmanwori’s best sequence came late in the first half. The Rams had taken their first lead and had the ball. Matthew Stafford was looking to get more points before halftime. With about 90 seconds on the clock, Williams had a nice run on first down. Stafford had a second and five from his own 33.
He attempted a short cross to Davante Adams, who is almost uncoverable in such situations. Except this time, Nick Emmanwori covered him and broke up the pass. It left Fox announcer Tom Brady shaking his head. As he noted on air, a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to a Hall of Fame receiver was no match for the rookie defender.
On the next play, Emmanwori broke up another short out, this one intended for Ronnie Rivers. The result was a punt by Los Angeles. Seattle scored a touchdown in the final minute of the half to take a lead they would never relinquish.
A lot was made during the game about the way Emmanwori went after the veteran cornerback Riq Woolen on the sidelines after Woolen’s disastrous taunting penalty gave the Rams new life late in the game.
Macdonald brushed that off as the typical high emotions that run through such pressure-packed moments. The coach was more concerned that his players get their heads right for the next play.
That’s what happened as Seattle stopped the Rams' drive with back-to-back plays by Devon Witherspoon in the end zone. Spoon, Seattle’s best defensive back throughout the year, had started shakily but came on strong at the end.
Nick Emmanwori didn’t have a single shaky moment all game long. Whether covering Puka Nacua or Davante Adams, or taking on linemen and tight ends and stopping running backs, he was the best defensive player on the field. And he’s only getting better.