Nick Emmanwori keeps looking less like a traditional safety and more like Seattle’s defensive cheat code.
On Sunday night, the Seahawks’ standout showed why his game is so hard to box in during a 20-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, flashing the kind of versatility that has turned him into one of the league’s most unusual defensive weapons.
“He’s one of a kind,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday.
Emmanwori’s biggest moment came in the second quarter when he lined up as an off-ball linebacker, surged into the backfield on a blitz and ran down Patrick Mahomes on a play-action bootleg. That pressure helped force an errant throw, and Ty Okada came away with the interception.
He wasn’t done there. In the third quarter, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound defender was matched up in the slot on Xavier Worthy, who ran a record-breaking 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL scouting combine. Even with a 55-pound edge in his favor, Emmanwori stayed glued to Worthy on a vertical route and helped force the incompletion.
Then came the work on the edge. Emmanwori set the edge against an outside run and blew through a block to bring down NFL rushing leader Kenneth Walker III. On another snap, he peeled off the edge and broke up a short pass meant for Walker.
“Most versatile player in the league,” Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. “Being able to put his hand in the dirt and then guard receivers - I’ve never seen a player like him. He’s a special player.”
That kind of flexibility matters for Seattle beyond the splash plays. It allows the Seahawks to keep extra defensive backs on the field and still hold up against the run, which is a big part of how this defense operates.
Against Kansas City, that was on full display. Seattle limited Walker to 36 yards on 14 carries while playing a combined 86.8% of its defensive snaps in either nickel or dime, according to Sumer Sports.
“Nowadays, offenses are so flexible where they can spread you out in ’13’ personnel and they can put you in a phone booth in ’11’ (personnel),” Macdonald told Brock and Salk. “You’ve gotta be able to kind of match the sets with as many of the same people as you can and try to dictate terms that way. Nick’s one of those players that allows that.”
Emmanwori’s rise back into the lineup hasn’t been immediate. The 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up had ankle surgery in July and missed the opener. He returned in Week 2 in a limited role, then gradually earned a larger workload and is now back in an every-down spot.
Through six games, he has 2.0 sacks, three tackles for loss and 10 pressures. In coverage, he has allowed 12 catches on 19 targets for 86 yards, according to Sumer Sports.
Pro Football Focus says his usage has been spread across multiple roles: 37.3% of his defensive snaps at slot cornerback, 32.5% as a box defender and 28.4% as an edge rusher. That edge figure is a jump from last season, when he lined up there on 11.5% of his snaps.
“There isn’t anything that he can’t do,” Seahawks star cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. “He can line up anywhere. He’s just that good.”
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