Seattle Seahawks' Emmanwori is versatile, and that's tricky

Officially, Nick Emmanwori is listed on the Seattle Seahawks’ roster as a safety, but the reason there was so much excitement around the Hawks trading up and drafting him is because he can be more than that.

‘Crazy question,’ Seahawks coach responds when asked about QB situation

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound South Carolina product was picked 35th overall in the second round of the NFL Draft in April, and immediately he was drawing comparisons to versatile Baltimore All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald used to great effect when he was Ravens defensive coordinator.

Macdonald didn’t shy away from that comparison Tuesday when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk at Seahawks headquarters. Asked by former NFL quarterback and longtime football broadcast analyst Brock Huard what kind of roles – such as a bigger safety, a nickel cornerback or even a “big nickel” cornerback – Emmanwori will find himself in, Macdonald himself invoked Hamilton and another of his former Ravens players.

“We joke with (Emmanwori) that it’s up to him… (but) it’s not as easy of an answer as you’d like,” Macdonald said. “We had a similar situation with Kyle Hamilton. Brandon Stephens is another guy that was drafted the year before I got back to Baltimore.”

Got another playmaker in the secondary. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/vnJUcTqJ5H

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 26, 2025

The trick isn’t the ability to play at any of those spots, but developing the player at each of them.

“These versatile guys that can do like a lot of things, it’s like, OK, you’re only going to get so many reps. Do you get good at one thing and then you expand?” Macdonald continued. “Do you start in the third level and then (move) forward?”

The Seahawks at least know their opening approach in the offseason program with Emmanwori, according to Macdonald.

“With the way our team is structured now with the safeties that we have and Nick’s just natural ability, I think we’re starting with focusing more at the second level, nickel position,” he said. “See if that translates possibly to dime (packages) on third down, which is kind of a similar skill set. And then roles that you play schematically, it’s kind of mirrored. And then it leaves some opportunities to play safety, too.

“It’s a balance there of like, OK, how do you get him to get really good at these things? And then build the role as you go.”

Watch @Eman7Nick work. pic.twitter.com/1QhYzmXKUV

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 5, 2025

Being adept at several different spots on the field is a lot for one player to handle, but Macdonald shared something that could be a reason Emmanwori will make it work.

“What I really appreciate about Nick is he loves the process of football,” Macdonald said. “There’s a lot of parts of the game that comes natural to him. He has a great feel for the game naturally on how to do things, but it matters to him. And he’s working really hard to get caught up because he’s getting a lot of reps with the ones (first-team defense) out there, too, so the expectations are high out there to be able to execute.

“He’s fun to work with. And he knows he’s got a long way to go. But you love the intent, you love the preparation, coach-ability – all those things are there.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald in the video at the top of this post of the podcast player below. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

Seattle Seahawks’ Emmanwori is versatile, and that’s tricky

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