Feb. 17, 2026, 3:58 p.m. PT
It’s time we give Seattle Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori a proper nickname- and for a player who is the most athletic at his position of all time and seemingly regenerates from injuries, “Super Soldier” is exactly what it sounds like.
Before the Super Bowl, I mentioned that if he came back healthy after spraining his lower ankle to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, it’s a sort of regenerative power we’ve never truly seen before. He did just that, playing 70 of a possible 71 defensive snaps. Low ankle sprains are typically estimated to keep a regular human out for a few weeks, but he was off the injury report by Friday, less than 48 hours after his injury. He also sprained his high ankle (on the same side) in Week 1, yet halved the usual recovery timetable for that by making it back in 3 weeks from an injury that typically takes 6 or more to heal. This is the type of thing you see in Marvel Movies from Captain America, not athletes.
Once he came back in Week 4, he exploded onto the scene in the second half of the season. His ascent was rapid, as he seemed to make another physically dominating play weekly, then became one of the most important players on the Seahawks’ defense through their historic late-season Super Bowl run. There are plenty of ways to describe his ascent, but the one thing it wasn’t was surprising. Emmanwori was the most athletic safety for as long as the data goes back in pre-draft testing, so the ridiculous potential was laid out clearly in numerical terms for all to see.
Once you start seeing Emmanwori this way, it’s hard to unsee- but it properly encapsulates how unique he is and the utter domination he brings.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.