Nick Emmanwori Looking to ‘Recreate Legion of Boom’ Joining Talented Seahawks’ Secondary
RENTON, Wash. - From a young age, like many aspiring NFL hopefuls who climbed through the high school and college ranks in the past decade and change, Nick Emmanwori revered the Seattle Seahawks’ vaunted “Legion of Boom” secondary from the 2010s, which helped guide the franchise to their first and only Lombardi Trophy and back-to-back Super Bowl berths.
Starting his football career as a cornerback, Emmanwori loved Richard Sherman’s ball hawking skills and relentless confidence, trying to emulate parts of the multi-time All-Pro’s game in his own. He also watched speedy safety Earl Thomas reel in interceptions and tally tackles in bunches with great admiration from his centerfield post, making a case for the best free safety of his era.
But while Emmanwori enjoyed watching Seattle’s entire defensive backfield wreak havoc on opponents, nobody inspired him as a player more than hard-hitting enforcer Kam Chancellor, who he used to watch highlights of before games. Thanks to a growth spurt that saw him shoot up to 6-3, he transitioned away from cornerback to play safety, and showing how small the world truly is, he had the privilege of playing for the same defensive backs coach as his idol did at South Carolina in Torrian Gray, formerly an assistant at Virginia Tech when Chancellor starred in Blacksburg.
Now, with the Seahawks aggressively trading up to select Emmanwori with the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the hyper-athletic safety will get to follow in Chancellor’s footsteps, carving out his own legacy in a secondary already featuring Pro Bowl cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen as well as Pro Bowl safety Julian Love and ascending talent Coby Bryant. Rather than back away from the pressure of living up to the standard set by one of the best defensive backfields in NFL history, he’s embracing it.
“They have some dogs. Honestly, Spoon is a dog. Julian Love, Coby Bryant are dogs. Riq Woolen,” Emmanwori told reporters moments after being selected by Seattle. “First thing when I get up there, just to keep it short and simple, we’re looking to recreate the Legion of Boom. Especially if I can fit in with the Kam Chancellor type of role or size.”
Relatively soft spoken in his introduction to local media, Emmanwori seemed to be all business after learning of his selection, further illustrated by his calm demeanor during his draft call with general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald. But his play style couldn’t be any different.
Always flying around the field as if his hair is on fire, Emmanwori’s historic 4.32 40-yard dash speed and 43-inch vertical jump explosiveness at the combine show up with pads on both as a run defender and in coverage. Becoming an immediate starter at South Carolina as a true freshman, he eclipsed 80 tackles in his first year on campus to earn Freshman All-American honors. Two years later, he burst onto the scene as one of the best defensive backs in the nation, totaling 88 tackles and four interceptions, returning two of those picks for touchdowns while allowing a 37.1 passer rating when targeted and missing only seven tackles all year.
Incredibly versatile, Emmanwori produced those impressive numbers while lining up all over the formation for the Gamecocks. Over the course of his three-year collegiate career in Columbia, he logged more than 1,000 snaps in the box along with 710 snaps as a free safety and 564 snaps in the slot, maximizing his rare blend of size, athleticism, and ball skills as the type of interchangeable defensive weapon that coach Mike Macdonald covets in his scheme.
“How do you watch his tape and not just see the potential of what he can become?” Macdonald said of Emmanwori’s unique traits and skill set. “To our coaches' credit, they really felt strongly about it. Go through the process, get aligned with the scouts, the scouts felt the same way. It's our job to kind of make it come to life now, which is the fun process. Get in here, go to rookie football school, learn what a slot formation is, 21 personnel. Build it from the ground up. If you do it the right way, I believe it can be something special.”
As for where Emmanwori prefers to line up, he’s open to doing whatever Macdonald, defensive coordinator Aden Durde, and the Seahawks ask him to do, confident he can impact games as a playmaker in deep coverage, blowing up the run in the box as a pseudo linebacker, or as a nickel defender in the slot.
“I think I can do it all, honestly. I don’t want to put myself in one box,” Emmanwori said. “But I think I can do it all. I can play in the back end, I can play towards the box. I can line up at nickel. I don’t really want to pencil myself in. A lot of people probably have me penciled in as a box safety. I am a little bit more dominant towards the box, but I also can be dominant in the post.”
As Macdonald stated, expecting Emmanwori to immediately come on board and play like Chancellor or Kyle Hamilton, the talented Ravens safety who Macdonald coached in Baltimore, wouldn’t be fair to the player. While there are similarities between the three players, particularly in the size department, he has yet to play a snap in the league and will have to prove himself in a crowded secondary featuring proven, experienced talent.
When it comes to deficiencies in his game, Emmanwori will have work to do cleaning up his pursuit angles, as he sometimes outruns plays in the run game and puts himself in difficult positions to make tackles. Shoring up his diagnosis of run plays and working around blocks also remain areas for improvement that he will have to check off before he can play extensive snaps alongside Love and Bryant or threaten to cut into their respective playing time.
But after posting impressive production in three seasons at South Carolina and generating historic testing numbers at the combine, the sky truly looks to be the limit for Emmanwori’s ceiling. Banking on him taking to the coaching of Macdonald and defensive backs coach Karl Scott quickly, the Seahawks believe they landed two first round picks who can be foundational pieces of their roster for years to come, and they will be able to have some patience with him mixing him into the lineup due to the presence of Love and Bryant already on the roster.
As for the player, motivation may not have been needed for Emmanwori, but he acknowledged not hearing his name called in the first round left a sour taste in his mouth. After every team passed on him on opening night, with Seattle taking the leap of faith dealing multiple picks to trade up to acquire him, he’s fired up to put his unique tools on display in a scheme well-suited for his strengths alongside a star-studded defensive backfield and hopes to leave the rest of the league regretting their decision as he stars as an anchor for the next elite secondary to bring the boom in the Pacific Northwest.
“I was already entering the league with something on my mind. Like a goal I had or a vision I had or a little chip. But now everybody is on my list. Everybody is on my list right now.”
