Dec 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) celebrates after an interception against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Rising Seattle Seahawks defender named team's best building block

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Jan 2, 2026 5:00 PM ET

The Seattle Seahawks have one more game to win to prove it, but going into the NFL playoffs they should probably be considered the Super Bowl favorite.

How they got here is a combination of brilliant coaching from Mike Macdonald, Klint Kubiak and Jay Harbaugh and some exceptional roster building by general manager John Schneider.

Players win championships, not organizations, though. The reason why they are more dangerous than any point since end of the 2014 season is because they have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, they have the guy who's the best wide receiver in the league right now. They also have one of the game's best up-and-coming tight ends and a quarterback who (on his good days) can match anybody's production.

On special teams they just added the most-dynamic kick returner in the sport.

Defense is where this roster really shines, though - and there are several Pro Bowlers and potential first-team All-Pros in the bunch. That includes a lethal defensive line, a criminally underrated middle linebacker and what may be the most secondary in football.

Picking this team's best building block is no easy task. According to Brad Gagnon at Bleacher Report, it's rookie DB Nick Emmanwori.

B/R on Nick Emmanwori

"By no means are we giving up on first-round O-lineman Grey Zabel, who has had some nice games in an up-and-down rookie campaign, but the versatile Emmanwori has been superb across the board. With a stronger start, he'd be in the DROY conversation."

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

You could also make a very strong case for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon or any one of the team's excellent 2022 draft picks. However, the only real point against Emmanwori is that he's operating on a pretty small sample size.

Emmanwori suffered an ankle injury in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, causing him to miss the team's next four games.

Since he re-entered the lineup against Tampa, Emmanwori has been on an absolute tear - bringing up legitimate comparisons to Kam Chancellor at his peak.

Emmanwori is making stops all over the place - including in the box, where he has 2.5 sacks and seven tackles for a loss. Emmanwori has also been superb in coverage, totaling one interception and 11 pass breakups.

The numers don't do justice to the impact Emmanwori makes for Seattle's defense, though. Like Chancellor before him he enables Mike Macdonald to unlock all kinds of different personnel combinations, acting as a force-multiplier for a unit that was already one of the NFL's best.

As impressive as he's looked in the 13 games he's played so far, we're willing to be that Emmanwori will take a huge leap forward in his second season. By this time next year, he may be a household name.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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