Nick Emmanwori 2025 NFL Draft South Carolina DS Draft Report
In a strong 2025 NFL Draft class, Nick Emmanwori is an exceptionally physical DS. Emmanwori is an athletic safety who played for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Today, we’ll break down his NFL outlook in this scouting report. Additionally, we will be breaking down his strengths, areas for improvement, and his potential draft grade.
Nick Emmanwori 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report
Emmanwori emerged from Irmo High School as a three-star recruit with a linebacker’s build and a safety’s instincts. In the end, he chose to stay home and suit up for South Carolina. Thrust into action as a true freshman in 2022 after an injury to the starter, he seized the opportunity and never yielded his role. Impressively, he started in 36 of 37 games over three seasons. By his junior year in 2024, Emmanwori had evolved into a unanimous First-Team All-SEC selection and a First-Team All-American. In total, he ended his college career with 244 tackles, six interceptions, and a reputation as a tone-setter in the secondary.
HT: 6031
WT: 220
40: 4.38
ARM: 3248
Emmanwori’s 2025 NFL Combine performance was historic. Impressively, he was the only safety since 2003 to post a sub-4.4 40, a 40+ inch vertical, and an 11+ foot broad jump. His athleticism at 6’3 and 220 pounds is a rare blend that redefines the modern safety prototype.
Strengths
- Physical Freak: Emmanwori’s size-speed combination is elite, allowing him to dominate in multiple phases. He’s built like a linebacker but moves like a corner, giving him a matchup advantage against tight ends and bigger receivers.
- Run Support: A downhill missile in run defense, he triggers quickly, takes precise angles, and delivers jarring hits. His 88 tackles in 2024 (including 3.0 for loss) highlight his ability to erase plays near the line of scrimmage.
- Ball Skills: With six career interceptions—four in 2024, including two returned for touchdowns—Emmanwori has a knack for turning takeaways into points. His length and jumping ability make him a constant threat at the catch point.
- Versatility: Comfortable in the box, as a two-high safety, or shadowing tight ends in man coverage, he’s a chess piece for creative coordinators. His 417 coverage snaps in 2024 produced zero touchdowns allowed and a passer rating against of just 37.1.
- Football IQ: Three years as a defensive quarterback sharpened his pre-snap reads and route recognition, particularly in zone schemes where he can keep plays in front of him.
Areas for Improvement
- Hip Fluidity: His high-cut frame and rigid backpedal limit his ability to flip his hips, mirror shifty slot receivers, or change direction on a dime. This stiffness could be exploited by elite route runners at the next level.
- Deep Range: While his straight-line speed is exceptional, Emmanwori lacks lateral agility and top-end range to cover the deep third consistently as a single-high safety. He’s better suited closer to the action.
- Over-Aggressiveness: His eagerness to attack downhill can lead to missed assignments or biting on play-action, leaving him a step late to recover in coverage.
- Technique in Space: He occasionally relies on raw athleticism over polished fundamentals, getting grabby downfield (five penalties in 2024) or losing positioning against crossing routes in zone.
Conclusion
All in all, Emmanwori is a dream for defenses prioritizing physicality and adaptability in the secondary. He’s tailor-made for a quarters-heavy scheme or a big-nickel role, where he can neutralize tight ends, plug running lanes, and poach underneath throws. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs—needing a strong safety with free agency looming—could maximize his skill set early.
Despite the good, he’ll need coaching to refine his footwork and coverage instincts. However, his floor is an immediate starter with special teams upside (his size and speed scream four-phase contributor). His ceiling? He is a multi-time Pro Bowler if paired with a scheme that masks his limitations and unleashes his playmaking. Expect him to come off the board between picks 15-25 in the 2025 NFL Draft, potentially as the first safety off the board.
Emmanwori evokes a leaner Kam Chancellor with a splash of Kyle Hamilton’s versatility. Like Chancellor, he’s a physical enforcer who thrives in the box and intimidates over the middle. Like Hamilton, his size and ball skills allow him to flex across alignments, though he’s not quite as rangy in deep coverage. Don’t be shocked if Emmanwori has his name called on the first day of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Round Grade: 2nd Round
Stats: Per Sports Reference
| Season | Team | G | Solo | Ast | PD | Int | IntTD | FF |
| 2022* | South Carolina | 13 | 62 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | South Carolina | 11 | 47 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024* | South Carolina | 13 | 57 | 31 | 2 | 4 | *2* | 0 |
| Career | 37 | 166 | 78 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
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