Nick Emmanwori doesn’t shy away from the comparisons to star safeties with similar physical profiles, nor the expectations that come with them.
Derwin James, Kyle Hamilton, Kam Chancellor — it’s all fair game to the Seattle Seahawks’ rookie defensive back.
“I love those expectations,” said Emmanwori, so coveted by the Seahawks that they traded up to draft him with the 35th pick. “But, of course, I’m going to make my own imprint on the league.”
Emmanwori wants to make a name for himself in the NFL, but he’s also aware of the legacy created by the previous iteration of star defensive backs in Seattle, and he wants to restore that feeling. On draft night, Emmanwori used the word “dogs” to describe teammates Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.
“We’re looking to recreate the Legion of Boom,” the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori said. “Especially if I can fit in with the Kam Chancellor type of role.”
Emmanwori has heard Chancellor comparisons since college. His position coach at South Carolina, Torrian Gray, was also Chancellor’s defensive backs coach at Virginia Tech. Gray long considered Chancellor, who was 6-3 and around 230 pounds by the time he entered the NFL, a once-in-a-generation talent, given his abilities at that size. Then he laid eyes on Emmanwori at one of South Carolina’s camps, working out as a linebacker.
Enticed by Emmanwori’s speed, Gray had to see if he could backpedal smoothly enough to play defensive back. Gray put Emmanwori to the test. The high schooler backpedaled, flipped his hips and hauled in a pass. That one rep was all the evidence Gray needed: another once-in-a-lifetime player.
“You’re getting a generational-type guy as far as a body type,” Gray said of Emmanwori during a KJR-FM radio interview on May 1. “He’s a different breed.”
Chancellor was recruited to Virginia Tech as a quarterback, then moved to cornerback before transitioning to strong safety and, later, free safety. He was a fifth-round pick in 2010, in part because the latter position wasn’t his strong suit, and he posted underwhelming athletic testing ahead of the draft. On draft night, Seattle said Chancellor was out of position as a free safety and felt he was at his best coming downhill, defending the run and covering the underneath areas as opposed to matching up with wide receivers in the slot or playing deep centerfield (Seattle drafted Earl Thomas, a free safety, in the first round that year).
The Seahawks’ projection for Emmanwori is similar. Coach Mike Macdonald mentioned safety, nickel and linebacker when forecasting Emmanwori’s spot in the defense. That might sound like a utility defender, but all of those roles are second-level alignments based on the situation. Basically, the Seahawks want to put Emmanwori near the action.
This was reflected in how Emmanwori was used during two rookie minicamp practices at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center earlier this month. Whether operating as a true box safety or a “big nickel” defender, Emmanwori was near the line, keying the run, guarding tight ends and receiving instruction from Macdonald and his assistants in between reps.
It’s far too early to project Emmanwori having a Chancellor-level impact on Seattle’s defense; Chancellor was a rare talent at the position and flew around like a battering ram with cleats. However, Macdonald can borrow from the way the coaching staff found a role that accentuated Chancellor’s strengths and hid his weaknesses.
Emmanwori appears to be at his best when he can eye his assignment through the play, then drive on the ball. He ran the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in 4.38 seconds — the same time as running back Ken Walker III — with a 1.53-second 10-yard split (just three hundredths of a second slower than Walker, despite being taller and heavier). Emmanwori’s straight-line speed and burst allow him to be a difference-maker.
The first play from scrimmage against Oklahoma last season was an interception, one of two Emmanwori had in the game. Emmanwori, the safety near the far hash in the video above, has only one threat to his side of the field after the pre-snap motion, and he is able to key on that receiver the whole way.
After initially flipping his hips toward the sideline, Emmanwori opens up and runs with the receiver across the field (South Carolina’s edge rusher beat the tight end to provide a nice assist), sprinting from the far hash to the near numbers to make the diving grab. Bryant had an interception in a very similar situation against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14 of 2024. Safeties with range, closing speed and ball skills are legitimate weapons.
Emmanwori had a similar issue on LSU’s game-winning drive. Aligned as the boundary safety before rotating toward the line at the snap, he struggles to backpedal, flip his hips and track another over route from Lacy, ending up faceplanting while the receiver made the catch near the goal line. This is an area Emmanwori might be able to clean up, but it would make sense to focus on weaponizing his straight-line speed and to limit assignments that require high-level hip flexibility.
Gray said he was “very confident” when putting Emmanwori on a tight end in man coverage. But, Gray said, if Emmanwori’s technique and fundamentals are on point, he can win against receivers, too. “A taller, bigger wideout who is probably not going to be crazy shifty,” Gray said. “I do like his chances there.”
Emmanwori’s run defense when aligning near the line of scrimmage or rotating pre-snap appears to be better than his run support when playing deep (as Dane Brugler noted in “The Beast,” Emmanwori made a habit of taking bad angles). Because of that, playing primarily in the box should suit him well.
Emmanwori is talented enough to have been a first-round pick, which made it frustrating for him when his name wasn’t called on opening night. He already played with energy and competitive fire, and slipping to the second round added new motivation.
“I’mma show the rest of the teams that passed on me,” Emmanwori said. “I can’t wait to show them what type of player I am and just make ‘em regret it.”
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