In Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks did something that made absolutely no sense: and it worked like a charm.
Against a New England Patriots offense that had specialized in the power running game during the 2025 season, Seattle played base defense exactly 1.5% of the time. The Patriots took advantage of that by using 11 personnel on 79.1% of their snaps, but still… when you’re playing nickels (five defensive backs) on 44.8% of their snaps (14.2% below the NFL average) and dimes (six defensive backs) on a staggering 53.7% of their snaps (43.9% of the NFL average), something was afoot, and it made the difference. in Seattle’s 29-13. gain.
The name of that something was Nick Emmanwori. The 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of South Carolina, the 6′ 3⅛”, 220-pound Emmanwori (who completely dominated the 2025 scouting combine) became head coach Mike Macdonald’s multi-position enforcer, in many of the same ways Kyle Hamilton filled that role when Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
“We had him in the 9-technique, in the 5-technique, he’s playing in the slot.” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said about Emmanwori last December.. “We’re putting a lot on his plate. That’s part of my message to him, ‘You’ve got a lot on your plate, there’s a lot of expectations, and rightfully so, you’ve earned those opportunities. Go prepare yourself so you can play the brand of ball you want to play. Then let yourself go, and if something happens during the game, we’ll fix it or get you out of that situation, but just move on to the next thing and move on.'”
Overall, it worked very well. Emmanwori played 51% of his snaps last season in the box, 45% in the slot, 2% in the deep third and 2% as a drop defender. His success was the latest in a long line of do-it-all safeties dating back to Charles Woodson, through Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James and Hamilton. These types of players have never been more relevant in the NFL, and that was demonstrated in the 2026 draft.
- The Dallas Cowboys selected Ohio State’s Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick.
- The Chicago Bears selected Dillon Thieneman out of Oregon with the 25th overall pick.
- The Cleveland Browns selected Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren with the 58th pick.
Now that these guys are in the NFL, what can they do for their new teams all over the field?
Caleb Downs, Dallas Cowboys
Last season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Downs played 37% of his snaps as a two-deep safety, 30% in the slot, 17% as a single-deep safety and 9% as an outside cornerback or drop defender. Overall, he had one sack, five pressures, 58 solo tackles, 35 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and, in coverage, allowed 25 receptions on 38 targets for 168 yards, 92 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass deflection and a 53.4 opponent passer rating.
Downs may be the most NFL-ready player in this class, regardless of position; he ran the show in Matt Patricia’s NFL-familiar defense, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t do that at the next level, especially in a new Christian Parker-led defense that takes its two-tall shells, game coverage principles and defensive back versatility from the Vic Fangio tree (Parker was the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2024 and 2025). Certainly a glow of whatever Matt Eberflus was doing with that defense last season.
“Premium instincts” Parker said about Downs in early May.. “You can see his football intellect, the way he directs traffic, the way he reads and reacts, his brain is connected to his feet. It was consistent. You’re watching three years of film and there’s no difference on tape.
“He’s constantly making the right decision, constantly down on the ball, constantly making contact with it, constantly in the right spot. It’s just a smooth, smooth transition and a smooth game.”
Dillon Thieneman, Chicago Bears
Last season for the Oregon Ducks, Thieneman played 54% of his snaps as a split safety, 22% as a single safety, 12% in the slot, 8% in the box, and 4% as an outside cornerback or drop defender. He had four pressures, 72 solo tackles, 30 stops, three tackles for loss and in coverage, allowed 18 receptions on 29 targets for 145 yards, 42 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass deflections and an opponent passer rating of 80.4.
“Rank,” Bears director of college scouting Breck Ackley said when asked to detail Thieneman’s most impressive trait. “The versatility to play. He’s got nickel-flex. He’s got the versatility to play free and strong. But what stands out, if you can go back to his Purdue tape, 2023, when he had six picks, he really has some stuff in center field.
“Oregon used him a little bit in a scout role, and sometimes in a different role. Safety is one of those positions where you really have to look a lot, but there are a lot of plays for him. He can move his hips, he can cover ground, and then you add the versatility, the running support, the physicality. But I would say the range stands out.”
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will most likely use Thieneman as his pass rusher in 2026 and beyond, because that’s actually his most impressive trait. Kevin Byard was the team’s top free safety last season, and he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. Former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant is now in the fold on a three-year, $40 million contract, giving the Bears some flexibility, but they can rest assured that Thieneman’s particular range and coverage traits will be a big part of Allen’s defense.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Cleveland Browns
Last season for the Toledo Rockets, McNeil-Warren played 45% of his snaps at single safety, 20% in the slot, 19% at split safety, and 2% on the outside. He had one sack, five pressures, 42 solo tackles, 17 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and, in coverage, allowed six receptions on 15 targets for 116 yards, 50 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass deflections and an opposing passer rating of 50.3.
“I think what’s so special about Emmanuel is the versatility he brings,” said assistant general manager and vice president of football operations Catherine Hickman. “You’re thinking about a player that can play high, can play low, a player that has excellent ball skills, size, strength and physicality. He’s really a player that, the way we want to play defense, gives our defensive coaches a lot of options. And they’ll be very happy to work with him.”
I have no doubt about it and I was surprised that McNeil-Warren lasted until the second round. He has some things to work on like any draft prospect, but he may also have the purest athletic upside among these three players. At 6′ 3½” and 201 pounds, he has all the tools to be one of the new wave of complete safeties: the new type of player every NFL team not only wants… but desperately needs.
