Macdonald hints at Seahawks’ plan for Nick Emmanwori in Year 2

As a rookie last season, Nick Emmanwori quickly established himself as one of the most important players on the Seattle Seahawks’ top-ranked scoring defense.

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Emmanwori was a big-time playmaker, filling the stat sheet with an interception, 11 pass breakups, 2.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss and a blocked field goal in 14 regular-season games. He then added four more pass breakups in the postseason during the Seahawks’ run to a Super Bowl title.

But even more importantly, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori’s rare combination of size, speed and athleticism gave head coach Mike Macdonald a Swiss Army knife as a chess piece to move around the field. With that unique versatility, Emmanwori could play linebacker against heavier offensive formations and nickel corner against lighter sets, which allowed Seattle’s defense to dictate the terms against its opponents.

Yet as great as his rookie campaign was, the 22-year-old Emmanwori may still be scratching the surface of his potential.

What’s in store for the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in Year 2? Macdonald was posed that question last week during a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“There’s more things that Nick can do on the field, and I think you’re looking at a balance of sharpening the things that he did last year, which is really great,” Macdonald said. “I mean, he had a tremendous year, so let’s go attack a lot of the fundamentals of what he’s doing last year to even make it more potent.

“But then there’s also some opportunities that aren’t big stretches in terms of asking him what he can do – where we can play him, things like that.”

Macdonald said the focus this spring has been sharpening what Emmanwori did last year. When training camp begins later this summer, that’s when they could dive into potentially expanding his role.

“It’s kind of back to laying a foundation (right now),” Macdonald said. “And then once we get to camp, I think we’re going to let the team and his skill set and where he is preparation-wise kind of dictate where we can take it. But right now, we haven’t seen anything that he hasn’t been able to do on the football field, which is really cool.”

Macdonald then emphasized that any expansion of Emmanwori’s role will come with a specific purpose.

“Schematically, like, yeah, it’s cool you can move that guy around, but you’re not doing it just because you think it’s cool,” Macdonald said. “You’re doing it because you think it’s putting us and him in an advantageous situation.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald in the podcast at this link or in the audio player above. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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