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.<\/p>\n
Macdonald didn\u2019t shy away from that comparison Tuesday when he joined Seattle Sports\u2019 Brock and Salk at Seahawks headquarters. Asked by former NFL quarterback and longtime football broadcast analyst Brock Huard<\/a> what kind of roles \u2013 such as a bigger safety, a nickel cornerback or even a \u201cbig nickel\u201d cornerback \u2013 Emmanwori will find himself in, Macdonald himself invoked Hamilton and another of his former Ravens players.<\/p>\n Related: How Huard envisions Seahawks using Emmanwori<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe joke with (Emmanwori) that it\u2019s up to him\u2026 (but) it\u2019s not as easy of an answer as you\u2019d like,\u201d Macdonald said. \u201cWe had a similar situation with Kyle Hamilton. Brandon Stephens is another guy that was drafted the year before I got back to Baltimore.\u201d<\/p>\n Got another playmaker in the secondary. \u26a1\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/vnJUcTqJ5H<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The trick isn\u2019t the ability to play at any of those spots, but developing the player at each of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThese versatile guys that can do like a lot of things, it\u2019s like, OK, you\u2019re only going to get so many reps. Do you get good at one thing and then you expand?\u201d Macdonald continued. \u201cDo you start in the third level and then (move) forward?\u201d<\/p>\n The Seahawks at least know their opening approach in the offseason program with Emmanwori, according to Macdonald.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the way our team is structured now with the safeties that we have and Nick\u2019s just natural ability, I think we\u2019re starting with focusing more at the second level, nickel position,\u201d he said. \u201cSee 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\u2019s kind of mirrored. And then it leaves some opportunities to play safety, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch @Eman7Nick<\/a> work. pic.twitter.com\/1QhYzmXKUV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I really appreciate about Nick is he loves the process of football,\u201d Macdonald said. \u201cThere\u2019s 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\u2019s working really hard to get caught up because he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s fun to work with. And he knows he\u2019s got a long way to go. But you love the intent, you love the preparation, coach-ability \u2013 all those things are there.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n \u2022 Unlike last year, Seahawks\u2019 defense now gets to \u201cjust play fast\u201d<\/a>
\u2022 Notes and observations from Seahawks\u2019 first open OTA practice<\/a>
\u2022 Brock Huard: Clock is ticking on Seahawks at one position<\/a>
\u2022 Why NFL insider isn\u2019t sold on Seahawks\u2019 offseason<\/a>
\u2022 An area where Seattle Seahawks\u2019 draft class ranks No. 1 <\/a><\/p>\n
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