Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar writes about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Seattle Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwori, who has broken out in his rookie season to an extreme degree, and got all historical against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. If you don’t know, now you know!
If you’ve ever seen a band, read a book, or watched a movie before it got really
big and the entire world got hold of it, you know that there’s a duality to the feeling. You’re happy that some gifted people are getting the attention they deserve even as you’re a bit bummed that it isn’t “your” band, book, or movie anymore… even though it still is.
It can be that way with draft prospects if you’re in the business of evaluating them. Once in a while, you’ll hit on a guy because he’s a physical freak, he has outstanding game acumen, he’s in the perfect system for his skills, or some unholy combination of all three. I’ve had my share of hits and misses in the *cough* number of years I’ve been doing this, but when the Seattle Seahawks selected South Carolina defensive back/game-wrecker Nick Emmanwori with the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 draft, it was beyond clear that in head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, Emmanwori could be weaponized as few rookies in this class could be, and right away.
The Kyle Hamilton discussions and comparisons have been done to death, but the thing about cliches is that they’re cliches because they’re true. This season, Emmanwori has lined up more often in the box (44%) and the slot (52%) than as the free roamer he was in college, but most defensive coaches will tell you that when you have a rookie in the building, it’s best to teach him to do one or two things your way before throwing the whole playbook at his head. Hamilton played 22% of his snaps in the box and 53% in the slot in his rookie season of 2022, so that checks out.
That said, Emmanwori has become more and more of a royal pain in the ass for opposing offenses, and this phenomenon amplified itself in Seattle’s 37-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. The rookie had a sack, five solo tackles, three stops, two tackles for loss, an interception, and a blocked field goal for good measure. The last NFL player to rack up a sack, an interception, and a blocked field goal in the same game was Adrian Wilson of the Arizona Cardinals on September 12, 2010, against what was then the St. Louis Rams. At 6’3, 230, Wilson was another one of those bigger, do-it-all safeties who could demean an offense from just about everywhere.
No matter what Emmanwori did against the Falcons, it seemed to work.
“Tremendous game,” Macdonald said of Emmanwori’s efforts after the fact. “We gave out some game balls, and he got one of the game balls. I’m really happy for him. He’s worked his tail off. He really has. He does it every day. He’s a tremendous asset for us. Obviously when we’re utilizing him, when we’re playing him against 13 personnel in the area, he’s throwing his stuff in there. I’m happy for him, and he’s got a great attitude. Happy for him. He deserves it.”
The Falcons lined up in 13 personnel — one running back, three tight ends, and one receiver — on five plays, and they didn’t get much out of it. Or anything else, for that matter.
As a bomber in the run game, Emmanwori is a serious problem, because he’s so aware of how and when to deploy his 6’3, 227-pound frame. Some Falcons found it better to just hold on for dear life when he got going.
Thompkins may have been onto something, because Emmanwori was a one-man demolition machine in the run game from then on.
The sack showed how Emmanwori can throw that frame around with lethal control and speed…
…as did the blocked field goal from the edge.
The interception showed another aspect of Emmanwori’s awareness, and how well he works with his teammates. Kirk Cousins tried to hit Kyle Pitts on a stop route just to get something going, but as Emmanwori and cornerback Devon Witherspoon were stacked underneath Cover-2 to match the routes, it did not go well for the home team. Witherspoon deflected the pass, Emmanwori got the spoils, and Seattle’s defense won again.
“Bro’s playing his ass off right now,” Witherspoon said. “He’s 6-4, there’s nothing he can’t do. He’s strong, he’s physical, it’s just a loss for words. He had a hell of a game today.”
“You know, the type of call we’re in, we were just playing real matchy,” Emmanwori said when asked about the pick. “You know, ‘Spoon, he’s a twitchy dude, so he made the play, made the PBU, and the ball came fast in my eyes. So I had, like, a half a second to kind of react to it. Once I seen that, I just had to go make a play, grab the ball.”
For some people, it’s that simple. The offensive players are noticing, as well.
“That’s a challenge,” receiver Cooper Kupp said of facing a defense with guys like Emmanwori and Witherspoon in it. “The things that Emman does out there, what he creates, what he allows the defense to be in and the problems he creates, just in terms of the player that he is, how physical he is, his ability to cover, the athleticism to play man-to-man against whoever’s out there. It’s a very special thing, and Mike does a great job allowing him to play fast, and allow those guys to play off of each other — obviously, Spoon is one of those guys that you’d say is the heart and soul of that defense in terms of the energy he brings and the way he communicates. So those guys playing off each other, it’s just special. That’s a special group over on that defensive side of the ball.”
And now, one of the linchpins of the Legion of Boom is convinced that Mr. Emmanwori is the key to Seattle’s new terrorizing defense.
“You never really want to say you got it down,”Emmanwori told Richard Sherman this week about his development. “‘Cause it’s always so much stuff you want to get better at and stuff. But I would say [the Falcons game] was a game where I did feel like I was just playing fast. Everything I’ve been working on throughout the weeks, just the opportunities I had, were just coming to life right there.
“And as far as like blitzing and just being around the ball and making plays, even blocking the kick, you know, I’ve been working at in practice too. So, the league’s been what I thought, but it’s also like I always knew what I could do, plus my ability as a player. People ask me, have I had my ‘Welcome to the league’ moment yet? And you know, I really haven’t had it yet. I’m grateful for that too, been playing around a bunch of dogs on defense. So when you got a great defense, it also can help you out play fast at your position to just do that.“
So, maybe Nick Emmanwori doesn’t have his “Welcome to the league” moment. Maybe he’s just in the business of announcing himself with authority. At this rate, the whole Secret Superstar thing will be well beneath his station, so we might as well enjoy it while we can.
