Seahawks draft safety Nick Emmanwori: How he fits, draft grade and scouting intel

New York Times

26-04-2025

The Seattle Seahawks have bolstered their secondary by trading up and selecting South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori with the No. 35 pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Seattle sent pick Nos. 52 and 82 to the Tennessee Titans in order to make the pick.
Emmanwori saw his draft stock rise following a junior season in which he earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and first-team All-SEC honors. He was also a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented to the top defensive back in college football. Emmanwori led the Gamecocks in tackles (88) while showcasing his ballhawking skills with four interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Over three seasons at South Carolina, Emmanwori totaled 244 tackles and had six interceptions.
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The 6-feet-3, 220-pound safety's best game of the season came at the outset of South Carolina's six-game winning streak leading into its Cheez-It Citrus Bowl appearance. Against Oklahoma, he had 11 tackles and two interceptions — one of which was a 65-yard pick six.
Emmanwori tested well at February's NFL Scouting Combine to keep up the positive momentum going. At the event in Indianapolis, he posted the top marks at his position in the 10-yard split (1.49 seconds), vertical jump (43 inches), broad jump (11 feet, six inches) and bench press (20 reps) and the second-best time in the 40-yard dash (4.38 seconds).
Emmanwori ranked No. 17 in Dane Brugler's top 300 big board. Here's what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
'Emmanwori does a nice job reading route concepts in underneath coverages, and he will make plays on the ball with his reaction quickness. Some of his reads and angles are inconsistent from depth, but he keys quickly from the box and plays with physicality. Overall, Emmanwori has the size, speed and mindset to play a variety of roles, although he projects best near the line of scrimmage, where he can blitz, be an eraser against the run and man up with tight ends and backs in coverage. He has the floor of an adequate starter and special-teamer, but his ceiling is exciting and will put him high on NFL teams' safety stack.'
What an anonymous coach had to say about Emmanwori in Bruce Feldman's mock draft:
'He's as big as some defensive ends in college and faster than anyone on the field. He's got so much range, it gives you a lot to worry about. There's some inconsistency there with him on the film, but you just don't see guys this size or this athletic.'
TO THE🏡 pic.twitter.com/ZgCRhvT1pD
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 19, 2024
This is the best pick of the draft. Few players are as athletic or as potentially impactful as Emmanwori (6-foot-3 1/8, 220 pounds). He was a first-team All-American last year with two pick sixes, four interceptions overall and a team-high 88 tackles for South Carolina. Over three seasons in Columbia, Emmanwori started 36 games and affected the game in every facet. He's a physical tackler with impressive speed (4.38 seconds in the 40). Grade: A+
Emmanwori is a big defensive back at 6-3 and 220 pounds. His pre-draft testing earned him a perfect Relative Athletic Score. That's a special combination of size, strength and athleticism, which is why he projects as a player who will excel near the line of scrimmage. There's a natural spot for such a player in Mike Macdonald's defense as a 'big nickel,' a personnel grouping Seattle often used last season. Macdonald likes that unit in part because he can match 11 personnel with five defensive backs but also defend the run, since the third safety in that situation is typically a very physical player. That's where Emmanwori comes in. — Michael-Shawn Dugar
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Seattle has its starting safeties in Julian Love and Coby Bryant, but the latter is on an expiring deal, and the team doesn't have promising depth at that spot after missing on Rayshawn Jenkins and K'Von Wallace in free agency last offseason (Jerrick Reed II is still an unproven commodity). D'Anthony Bell was signed in free agency this offseason as safety depth, but taking a flier on the former Cleveland Brown wasn't going to stop Seattle from investing in the position. Emmanwori will have a chance to compete for meaningful snaps in Year 1. — Dugar
The first two players selected in the second round were on our list of best available players: LB Carson Schwesinger and WR Jayden Higgins. Other players from the list included CB Will Johnson, edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, DT Darius Alexander and CB Azareye'h Thomas. Emmanwori was considered by some to be a first-round talent, and that likely explains Seattle's desire to move up in the second round. He might not have lasted until the 50th pick. Seattle still has its native second-round pick (50) and the third-round pick it received in the Geno Smith deal (92), so some of the other players on our best available list might still be in play. — Dugar
Seattle's projected starting secondary entering the draft featured Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Riq Woolen, Love and Bryant. Only Witherspoon and Love are under contract beyond this season. There was a need for another young defensive back. Drafting Emmanwori might be a good move for the future on top of his potential impact in 2025. He'll draw some Kam Chancellor and Kyle Hamilton comparisons because of his size, but at first glance, Emmanwori comes off as a bigger version of Love in that he has limited range but can make plays near the line of scrimmage