South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori could elevate Brian Flores' defense with his elite athleticism

Welcome to SKOL Search 2025! This is the fifth year I have done SKOL Search with the sole mission being to find NFL Draft prospects for the Minnesota Vikings. Throughout the entire process, this will be the most comprehensive draft guide with a focus on the Vikings. Each year, I scout incoming draft prospects from […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Oct 19, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Nick Emmanwori (7) reacts after returning an interception for a touchdown during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Welcome to SKOL Search 2025!

This is the fifth year I have done SKOL Search with the sole mission being to find NFL Draft prospects for the Minnesota Vikings. Throughout the entire process, this will be the most comprehensive draft guide with a focus on the Vikings.

Each year, I scout incoming draft prospects from a neutral perspective and try to see how they could fit with Minnesota. This will be general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's fourth NFL Draft and we have a good sense of what he likes in a prospect.

Going into the offseason, the Vikings have just three official selections with a fourth likely coming with a compensatory selection in the third round. However they choose to use them, they need to make the most out of their limited resources.

Nick Emmanwori

  • South Carolina
  • Height: 6030
  • Weight: 225
  • Class: Third-year Junior
  • Recruiting info: 4-star recruit in 2021 class per 247 Sports
  • Stats: 244 tackles (166 solo), 4.0 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, 11 passes defended, 1 forced fumble 
  • Games watched: Texas A&M 2024, LSU 2024, Missouri 2024

Strengths

  • Range: Emmanwori is a very good athlete at the position. He has true center-field range and can fly across the field to carry any receiver.
  • Patience/Football IQ: Emmanwori is a great athlete who can trigger quickly downhill. Even with that, he doesn't trigger in an aggressive manner but rather is calculated in triggering.
  • Versatility: The size profile that Emmanwori has is a huge plus, but also the ability to play anywhere. Whether it's play center field, deep half, in the box, or the slot, Emmanwork has the ability to do just that.
  • Ball Skills: The last two seasons saw Emmanwori grow in terms of ball production. He intercepted six passes (returning two for touchdowns) and batted down 10 passes.

Weaknesses

  • Hip Fluidity: Despite being a great athlete, Emmanwori doesn't possess the best fluidity. When flipping his hips, they appear stiff, preventing him from moving quickly.
  • Run Defense: Emmanwori has the ability to play the run, but is often too passive in doing so. When in the box, he should be more aggressive in attacking the ball carrier.
  • Tackling: Emmanwori flashes the ability to tackle at a high level, but struggles to be consistent with his technique and can take poor angles at times.

Overview

TraitGrade

Man

8.4/10

Zone

8.5/10

Range

14.4/15

Tackling

11.2/15

Speed

9.0/10

Quickness

8.5/10

Athleticism

8.5/10

Instincts

8.6/10

Physicality

7.8/10

Grade

84.9 Second Round Grade

Emmanwori is the prototype of versatile safeties. He can fly across the field as a deep safety and in the box as a blitzer and run defender. He's especially good when it comes to attacking the football in the air.

The Vikings current safety room doesn't have a player like Emmanwori. Camryn Bynum is a good player, but he doesn't have the range to be a game-changer. That is what Emmanwori can do for the Vikings.

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