Saints Keeping Close Eye On 'High-Upside' Ballhawk

The New Orleans Saints still could use a boost on defense despite its moves in free agency so far.

New Orleans has been hard at work and brought local boy Justin Reid to town and re-signed Chase Young among other moves. The upcoming National Football League Draft is going to be another way for the Saints to add young, inexpensive talent to the franchise but who will the Saints select?

That's anyone's guess right now. But, reports have trickled out on a near-consistent basis on guys the team is at least meeting with. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported on Thursday that New Orleans met with arguably the top safety in this draft class in Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina on Thursday.

"Nick Emmanwori visited the Saints on Thursday, according to a source," Underhill said. "The South Carolina safety is a high-upside player with size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) and athleticism (4.39 40-yard dash) that makes him an intriguing option in the draft."

He logged six interceptions over the last two years, including two pick-sixs, and also logged 10 passes defended over that stretch.

ESPN currently has him as the top safety in the draft class.

"Emmanwori is one of four players 6-foot-3 or taller who topped 40 inches in the vertical jump and ran a sub-4.4 time in the 40-yard dash since 2003, according to ESPN Research," ESPN's Steve Muench said. "He closes quickly and breaks on the ball well. He blows up screens and matches up well with tight ends. Emmanwori can press and run with slot receivers -- he recovers well and undercuts routes. He intercepted four passes and returned two for touchdowns in 2024.

"Emmanwori has the long arms and frame to break up passes and compete for 50-50 balls. He has good stopping power and led South Carolina in tackles in two of the past three seasons."

The Saints' recent addition of Reid was pretty solid. Adding Emmanwori to the mix as well definitely could take the secondary to another level.

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