With the Commanders looking to get something going late in the third quarter against a Seahawks defense that had been giving them trouble all night, Jayden Daniels threw a quick bubble screen to veteran receiver Deebo Samuel.

Samuel, who for six seasons with the 49ers was probably the holder of the unofficial title of "Opponent the Seahawks Defense Had The Hardest Time Tackling," was lined up in the slot with 225-pound receiver Treylon Burks as a blocker, meaning there ought to be room for at least a modest gain before Seahawks defensive backs Devon Witherspoon or Coby Bryant could come in for a tackle.

Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori, however, had other ideas.

Lined up across from Burks, Emmanwori took his blocker for a ride, driving the receiver back five yards before, while still engaged in the block, sticking his right arm out to stop Samuel, with Bryant flying into to help clean up a 1-yard loss.

Three plays later, the Commanders would punt again thanks in large part to what Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald called a "tremendous play" made by Emmanwori, a second-round pick who has a standout since returning from a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss almost all of the opener as well as the next three games.

"The play on the perimeter was a play we expected him to make," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "One of the reasons we have him in that position is that he can be a factor on the perimeter screen game and run game, and he continues to make those plays. When you can eliminate those plays on offensive, it narrows their menu and that's really helpful. That was a tremendous play, and that's something that we're going to want to encourage him to still do. His body position, when he strikes, his hand placement, all those things, we expect him to keep improving. I know he'll put the work in and do it, and we have a plan for that."

Since playing just four snaps in the opener, Emmanwori has appeared in four games, playing nearly every defensive snap in the past three, and has totaled 23 tackles, four tackles for loss and two passes defensed, leading to his name starting to get mentioned among Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates.

And the best news the Seahawks have going for them when it comes to their 2025 rookie class is that as good as Emmanwori has been, he is far from being the only success story among Seattle's draft picks. The Seahawks are getting big contributions on offense from first-round pick Grey Zabel, who is thriving as Seattle's starting left guard, second-round pick tight end Elijah Arroyo, and fifth-round picks receiver Tory Horton and fullback Robbie Ouzts. With standouts on both sides of the ball making a difference early in their careers, the 2025 draft class is shaping up to be the fourth in a row for general manager and president of football operations John Schneider and his personnel staff that is making early contributions to the team's success.

Zabel, the 18th overall pick, might not be getting a ton of attention because of the position he plays, but while starting every game at left guard, the rookie out of North Dakota State is showing he's not just one of the best rookie linemen in the league, he is also emerging as one of the league's top interior linemen. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Zabel has not allowed a sack this season through the first nine weeks of the season, and he has the sixth lowest quarterback pressure rate allowed (3.5 percent) among linemen league wide.

"He's throwback in his mentality," said Seahawks VP of player acquisition Matt Berry. "He's a guy that's from one of the schools that still develops offensive lineman. From a technical standpoint, he had played multiple spots there. He's a driven dude. He's really intelligent. He loves football. He's competitive, he's confident. So he had a lot of intangibles that set him up for success, and then, he's also a guy that's freaky athletic. I mean, he's a 90 mile-per-hour fastball guy that can run, and he just happens to grow into an offensive guard. And I think there's still upside to Grey as he continues to fill out in his frame and get stronger. But he attacks everything he does.

"And really through the process, we got to know Grey and saw how unique he was in terms of competitive makeup and how into ball he was and all those things, and that gave us a lot of confidence that he would come in and transition quickly. And he's become a glue guy in that room from a personality standpoint and just the way he attacks it."

After selecting Zabel in the first round, the Seahawks made calls late on Day 1 of the draft to possibly trade back into the first round to pick Emmanwori, on whom they had a first-round grade. Those talks didn't lead to a deal getting done, Schneider and company were able to get a deal done early in round two, in large part because of the extra Day 2 draft capital they acquired by trading Geno Smith and DK Metcalf.

Since returning from that injury, Emmanwori has come back and looked very much like the type of player the Seahawks were hoping to land when they made the trade.

"He's unique in terms of size, length, athleticism, play style, his versatility," Berry said. "And just the opportunity to fit him in our defense as much as we had talked about, playing big nickel and playing dime. And as much as Mike likes to blitz, having a player with his versatility to be able to cover, to be able to insert in the run game or two-high, to be able to do all the different things that he can do, we coveted that. And then on top of that, the type of confidence and competitor that he is. He was a player that we thought should have been drafted on day one, and the opportunity to trade up and get him was something that we were fortunate to have."

With their second second-round pick, the Seahawks picked Arroyo, who demonstrated big-play ability early in his career, catching 13 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, and who is also showing a willingness and ability to grow as a blocker.

"You see the big play ability, you see him on some of the play action," said assistant general manager Nolan Teasley. "And then the thing that we were really kind of hanging our hat on is there was an element of development that needed to happen as a run blocker, and the effort and the want to and the mentality are all there. So I think with all of these (rookies), I think the cool thing is that they're just scratching the surface on who they can be. And he falls under that category."

And the Seahawks aren't just getting early contributions from their top picks; a pair of fifth-round pick, Horton and Ouzts, both have key roles in the offense. Horton, the team's No. 3 receiver behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, has five receiving touchdowns as well as a franchise-record 95-yard punt return touchdown, and he came through with a big two-touchdown performance when starting in place of an injured Kupp last week. Ouzts, meanwhile, has been the starting fullback since the start of the season, though he did miss four games with an ankle injury, and is also a big contributor on special teams.

There have been bright moments for the rookie class all season, and last week's win in Washington was a great example of that, with Horton and Arroyo combining for three touchdowns and with Zabel playing another great game at guard, while on the other side of the ball, Emmanwori had six tackles and a tackle for loss, his third game out of five this season with at least five tackles and a tackle for loss.

"Maybe the most impressive thing is how smoothly they've transitioned just into our culture and the fit, in the locker room, in the meeting room, picking up the pace of the way we operate," Berry said of the rookie class as a whole. "They're all into football. I mean, football is what they're passionate about. Just seeing how the guys have come in, they've fit in. The transitions have been smooth, the learning curves have been short, and they've been able to contribute right away. And that speaks to having a path to play, having the right mentality, and you got to give credit to those guys and how they attack their opportunity."

And in addition to the five players making big contributions now, the Seahawks are also very excited about the long-term prospects for the draft picks who aren't currently seeing a lot of playing time. Quarterback Jalen Milroe, a third-round pick, "is exactly who we thought he was in terms of the work ethic, in terms of the person," Teasley said. "I think he's probably further along than we could have maybe anticipated. You see things in practice all the time that make you excited about what he brings to the table."

The Seahawks also like the long-term prospects of linemen Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman, and receiver Ricky White III is impressing teammates and coaches with his work on the practice squad. Then there's defensive lineman Rylie Mills, a fifth-round pick who tore his ACL late last season, but has a chance to contribute down the stretch.

"A couple of young offensive linemen that we're continuing to develop, we're being really, really specific and focused on how we're going about that on the field, in the weight room, mentally," Teasley said. "They're workers that bring the right mentality. Yeah. I'm trying to think of who else we got. And then Rylie Mills, I think we're getting to the point where we're confident at some point he's going to play football for us this season. How that fits is to be determined, but the way that he has approached his return to play is rare. So he's somebody that certainly has put in the effort in learning the system. So you're anticipating that once he's healthy and ready to go, he has the potential of making an impact to what's already a pretty good defensive front."

And for all the success this year's rookies have had, they also know there's still work to do, and if they need a reminder to keep them grounded, their head coach is happy to offer one. Caught up in the excitement of a big road victory in prime time, Emmanwori and Horton called it a "rookie takeover" as they walked off the field. Macdonald, impressed as he has been with the rookie class, had to laugh when asked early in the week about that sentiment, noting he might bring it up to the rookies during the week.

"Easy there, tiger. We've got a lot of work to do," Macdonald said. "Pretty sure they're not giving up playoff slots after Week 9, so we have a lot more work to do. That might be a message for them when we see them on Wednesday. The way we're trying to train our players is not giving the circumstance, go out, do the things you're trained to do, play the best version of football you can play, our style of ball, one play at a time. It's cliche central, but that's literally what we focus on every day. Whether you're a rookie or a 10-year vet, the ability to go do that is great. It's great for them. They're going to play good football, be productive and help the team as well. I hope they know that we have a lot more work to do."