Tag Archives: Nick Emmanwori

#NEvsSEA, Injury report

Hawks should be OK until Darnold returns

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When Sam Darnold was lost after one series vs. the Patriots in the NFL opener Thursday night, it was definitely a big bummer. But Drew Lock came in and played about like we expected: a couple of sparks and no big mistakes. With the No. 1 defense in the NFL backing him, that was enough to pull off a 13-10 win in a sloppy game by both teams.

With the news that Darnold might miss fewer than four games with his hip injury, the Seahawks look well prepared to weather the storm.

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#NEvsSEA

Are Emmanwori and Macdonald toying with the Patriots?

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Is Nick Emmanwori really iffy for the season opener? Or are he and Mike Macdonald playing mind games with the Patriots?

Emmanwori is coming back from ankle surgery that was performed in July. He has returned to the field in a limited capacity, based on injury reports.

The final episode of “Hard Knocks” featured another conversation between coach and player, in which Emmanwori said, “I feel like I’m grinding every day to a point where it’s like I’m making progress but can’t really do back-to-back hard days like that. Two days ago, I was pushing it, like I was running, and the next day it was kind of sore.

“I feel like other people’s (idea of) where they think I should be at, or where they want me to be, could be kind of interfering with where I’m trying to go or where I’m trying to get to.”

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The roster

Initial roster set, but secondary is still in progress

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The Seahawks’ roster – the 40 or so guys who matter most anyway – has been set all summer. The biggest struggle in camp involved sorting out the back end of the defense – and even as the cut to 53 (plus 17 on the practice squad) was made, the secondary is still the most unsettled position group on the team.

The top four – Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Julian Love and Ty Okada – are ready to roll. But Nick Emmanwori, rookie Julian Neal, new trade acquisition Avery Smith and recent vet signee Trevon Diggs (on the practice squad) all are behind in their prep for the season.

Emmanwori and Neal are just now practicing after recovering from injuries (surgery in E-Man’s case). Smith just arrived via trade from the Chargers (where he was in a similar defense), and Diggs signed a couple of weeks ago and saw just a few plays in the final preseason game. It will be a race to see which of those guys is ready for the opener Sept. 9.

Continue reading Initial roster set, but secondary is still in progress →
The roster, X's & O's

EPA splits reveal defense is no worse for departures

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Many NFL observers have made a big deal about the Seahawks losing two starters and two major backups this offseason. Some argue that those four losses – along with an offensive coordinator change — are enough to even make them questionable as contenders in 2026.

But Brian Nemhauser (HawkBlogger) recently performed a fun exercise that confirmed what we and other savvy observers already knew: The Seahawks certainly did not get any worse this offseason.

On the contrary, on defense anyway, the Hawks are likely to be even better off (as we have said).

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On the air, OTAs

Where Hawks are in ‘running it forward’

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One of the great things about the Seahawks is that they are just discovering what they can do under Mike Macdonald, who is in just his third season running the team and is referring to the process toward winning another Super Bowl as “running it forward” – trying to get better (in all ways) than the 2025 team that won it all.

As the Seahawks prepare to finish their offseason work with a minicamp this week, we’ve learned quite a bit about their progress so far.

Among the major learnings over the past month:

  • Brian Fleury seems very similar to Klint Kubiak, which pleases Sam Darnold
  • Rashid Shaheed and Darnold are building a better connection
  • Macdonald loves the versatility of his defense
  • Cooper Kupp and DeMarcus Lawrence are both having too much fun to consider retirement.

Let’s take a look at what the Seahawks have said about their offseason work.

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Free agency, The roster

Fowler (maybe) completes roster; now how good is it?

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The signing of Dante Fowler Jr. does a couple of things for Seattle: (1) Finishes the replacement of the four key free agents who left and (2) potentially upgrades the pass rush by a bit.

The roster is now largely set – with maybe seven spots up for grabs or rotation — as the Seahawks prepare for another Super Bowl title run in 2026.

The question is: How much better are the Hawks now than they were in their 2025 championship season?

More important: Are they good enough on defense to stop Matthew Stafford’s Rams?

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Super Bowl LX
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It’s Seahawks vs. Patriots Redux. There are tons of great storylines. Let’s check them out …

Sam Darnold is getting all kinds of well-deserved kudos for how he has rebounded from terrible situations in his first five seasons. Christian McCaffrey was teammates with him both in Carolina and San Francisco and calls him “one of my best friends and also an incredible player.” Josh Allen doesn’t usually watch the Super Bowl, but he will Sunday because he and Darnold (fellow 2018 first-round picks) are very good friends.

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#ARIvsSEA

By the numbers: Hawks put together back-to-back blowouts

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The Seahawks are playing dominant football right now — following up a blowout of Washington on Sunday Night Football last week with a 44-22 blasting of Arizona this week.

This sets up a monster matchup with the also 7-2 Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.

Before we look at that game, let’s look at the best numbers from the big win over Arizona.

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The roster, Trades

The promising future of the Hawks this year and beyond

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As the Seahawks take a week off to rest, self-evaluate and prepare for the final 10 games, they are in great position – both for this season and beyond.

At 5-2, they are one of seven NFC teams with a winning percentage over .700 – and right where we thought they would be, positioned for a second-half run into the playoffs.

By DVOA, they actually are rated the best team in the league – thanks to the top-ranked special teams and the No. 2 defense. Their net point differential (plus-57) is fifth.

The Hawks are blowing away Vegas projections, which had the Hawks finishing with seven or eight wins (a 7.5 over/under). We had predicted at least 11 wins. Well, this team is on a pace for 12. Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Hawks look capable of a 7-3 finish – thus a 12-5 record for the season.

This is clearly a playoff team. The bigger question: What happens once the playoffs arrive? Do the Hawks have what it takes to go all the way?

Let’s look at what they have and what they might need to make a Super Bowl run this year and beyond.

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Training camp

10 days in, what are the Seahawks doing and saying?

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The first 10 days of Seahawks training camp have been full of a lot of excitement, but also not without their disappointments.

John Schneider received a big extension, Sam Darnold has taken command of the offense, a couple of rookies – Nick Emmanwori and Tory Horton — have really stood out on both sides, and the defense appears to be in midseason form.

The latter is despite the absence of Uchenna Nwosu (PUP) and Ernest Jones IV dealing with the death of his father. The biggest injury loss has been at running back, where Kenny McIntosh suffered an ACL injury.

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