Nick Emmanwori Shines In Dominant Defensive Performance As Seahawks Top 49ers

After barely playing in Seattle’s Week 1 game against the 49ers, rookie safety Nick Emmanwori played a big role in the Seahawks’ Week 18 win.

Jan 04, 2026 at 01:49 AM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

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SANTA CLARA, Calif.—When the Seahawks opened the season against the 49ers, they had big plans for rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, and sure enough, the second-round pick flashed his potential early in the game, making a tackle for loss.

Emmanwori also suffered a high ankle sprain making that tackle, however, meaning he only played four defensive snaps in that game and missed three games after that. Since returning from that injury, Emmanwori has emerged as a key piece in Mike Macdonald's defense, becoming an every-down player who is the ultimate chess piece, a player who is big enough and physical enough to play in the box and stop the run or rush the passer, and who is fast enough and skilled enough to cover anyone from tight ends to running backs to receivers playing in the slot or as a safety.

And while no one player was responsible for Seattle's defensive dominance in a 13-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, Emmanwori definitely had a hand in it, showing the 49ers what they missed out on in Week 1, and showing again that he is also a deserving Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate despite the time he missed early in the season.

"That meant a lot to me," Emmanwori said. "That first game was super tough. First debut, looking to make a statement, and it got cut short. So I really had this game circled, ready for it, prepared for it. My mental was right for it. I'm just ecstatic we came this far as a team and ended up handling business against the 49ers with this much on the line."

What the presence of Emmanwori, as well as Devon Witherspoon, does for the Seahawks' defense is hard to overstate. Regardless of what personnel teams throw at the Seahawks, they can live in nickel, or even dime packages knowing that they can still stop the run while maintaining an advantage in passing situations. That was evident again on Saturday when, with Emmanwori playing every defensive snap, the 49ers managed just 173 yards, a season low, and Christian McCaffrey, who came into the game having already secured his third career season with 2,000 scrimmage yards, was limited including 57 yards on 14 touches, his lowest total of the season. Pro-Bowl tight end George Kittle, who spent a lot of his day being covered by Emmanwori, managed five catches, but for only 29 yards, and on one of those catches he was tackled by Emmanwori for a 6-yard loss.

"I'm really proud of Nick," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "I mean, he had a great game. He had a bunch of tackles and he earned this. He's a great player and it's obviously great to have him. He definitely helps our defense for sure."

Emmanwori's game included a team-high seven tackles, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hit on a blitz that forced an errant third-down throw and a 49ers punt. For the season, Emmanwori totaled 84 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed and one interception. He is the only player in the NFL this year with at least 2.5 sacks and double-digit pass breakups, and one of only two with double-digit pass breakups and eight tackles for loss. And again, he did all of that despite missing almost four entire games.

"Nick's a baller, man," inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "To come out and play as many positions as he does—I've said it before, I think Nick has the hardest week during the week, because he's a dime, he may look like a linebacker, he may look like a safety. So for him to come in as a rookie and be making the plays that he's making, man, I'm super proud of him. We saw this early on in Nick, and we just had to say, 'Keep going, keep going,' and that's what he's doing."