SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Seattle Seahawks needed a chess piece to unlock Mike Macdonald's defense in 2025, a player who could play multiple positions, roving around the formation to give offenses headaches. Enter, Nick Emmanwori.
The rookie defensive back proved to be a difference-maker en route to Seattle's appearance in Super Bowl LX this Sunday, able to cover from the slot, blitz from the box, stuff the run, and create game-changing havoc.
Emmanwori's growth in his first season unlocked Macdonald's defense the same way Kyle Hamilton did for him in Baltimore, where he was DC for two years before becoming Seattle head coach in 2024.
"It allows you to be versatile," Seahawks safety Julian Love said of Emmanwori. "You can use him as an outside linebacker. Use him as a linebacker. Use him as a nickel. Use him as a corner. Use him as a safety. Whatever. It's an incredible X-factor. And there are few."
With all due respect to Love, X-factors are generally under-the-radar players. Emmanwori is closer to a superhero, a concoction of Spiderman, Black Panther, Hulk, and, to hear his teammates and coaches talk, earning Captain America-type leadership qualities.
"I think what's great about Nick is in addition -- I mean, we all know, you can see the physical talent, physical ability -- but his eagerness to learn and the sense of urgency for detail and his hunger to be great really stands out," Macdonald said. "Not a lot of guys that are that talented, really, are interested in doing the amount of work that it actually takes for those traits to come to life."
The second-round rookie fell to the perfect club to unlock his diverse skill set. Macdonald helped Hamilton become a force in Baltimore. He's doing the same for Emmanwori in one season. The fit isn't lost on the rookie.
"Just getting drafted to the right team, I kind of expected to come in and make an impact," the DB told NFL.com on Wednesday. "I knew I could play multiple positions and do different things. I just needed a coaching staff that had a great plan for me and wasn't scared to work outside the box, and just all in year one, you know, there's no time to wait. The time is now."
After dealing with an early-season injury that forced him to sit out three games, Emmanwori has come on as a wrecking ball, smothering receivers, pummeling opponents at the line of scrimmage, and creating havoc.The rookie hit his stride in the postseason, generating eight tackles, four passes defended and a fumble recovery in two playoff wins. His versatility has come to the forefront, with 15.1% of his snaps in the postseason coming at the line of scrimmage, third-highest among defensive backs, per Next Gen Stats. The rookie made three crucial pass breakups in their NFC Championship Game win over the Rams.
"I just kept learning in games," Emmanwori said of his improvement during the season. "The best lessons are actually like hands-on and in games. So I'm learning a lot of lessons in games and figuring out how teams are trying to attack me and figuring out how teams are adjusting to the way we play our defense, because we kind of play like a unique defense. And just as I'm learning and learning about myself and learning about the game of football and how the NFL works, I'm just starting to see more stuff. And it's starting to just click for me. Just get more comfortable, but just being in the right spot at the right time, because, you know, I mean, when the plays come, they come to you. You can't go chase them. They just happen."
The rookie's versatility has allowed him to be around the ball and make those plays.
"He got better every game," cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. "He can do everything. He's still buying in. For a rookie to come in and play like a vet, you can't ask for much more than that. He's one-of-one. ... The guy can blitz, he can take on tackles, set the edge, blitz through the B-gap, I mean, literally the guy can do anything. He can cover the slot, cover the tight end. Everything you want him to do, he can do. When we've got our guy out there, it's kind of hard to game-plan against him."
The movable chess piece has given Macdonald a weapon. It's no surprise to hear Emmanwori say he closely studied Hamilton and Derwin James entering this season. The rookie plays in a similar disruptive style.
"As far as like how I can see myself in the NFL and like how they were just like being disruptive and blowing up plays and being a mismatch," he said.
Per Next Gen Stats, Emmanwori (51.0 percent of snaps in the box) was one of two DBs to align in the box on 45+ percent of snaps in 2025: The other: Kyle Hamilton (46.8 percent). The Seahawks rookie was also one of two players to align at edge rusher on at least 10 percent of his snaps and at slot corner on at least 30 percent this season, joining James.
Hamilton told NFL.com Monday from the Pro Bowl Games that he's watched Emmanwori closely, and sees similarities in how Macdonald deploys the electric DB.
"Nick is a freak athlete, great player. A young dude in this league but still making plays already," Hamilton said. "I think it just goes to show, Mike puts guys in the best position to make plays. Somebody like Nick, you've got to just figure out a way to get him on the field and keep him on the field cause he's out there making plays and doing a lot of stuff that other people can't do.
"He's doing stuff that I can't do, too," Hamilton added, chuckling. "He's a great player, happy for him, I think he's going to be super successful."
Come Sunday, Emmanwori and the Seahawks have a chance to be a different kind of Super successful with a Lombardi Trophy on the line.
