Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori does it all without being spread too thin

SAN JOSE — It hasn’t showed up as a prop bet yet, but a good one would be gambling on where Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori will line up on the first play of Super Bowl 60 Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Seattle coach Mike Macdonald knows, but he’s not saying. Seattle defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence admits he is sometimes confused.

“I’ll look down the line sometimes and say, ‘Bro, why are you so close to me?'” Lawrence said Wednesday at the San Jose Convention Center. “He’s down there in the trenches, trying to play like a defensive lineman.”

It will be a primary focus of New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on how to deal with Emmanwori when the Patriots (17-3) face the Seahawks (16-3) in this year’s Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium (NBC, 3:30 p.m.)

If it’s not one of Emmanwori’s occasional snaps as an edge rusher, it could be at any one of the three levels of defense. He’s played slot corner, linebacker and safety, often in the same game.

“Everything he does just jumps off the tape,” Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon said.

At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Emmanwori is in the running to be the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, although a high ankle sprain four snaps into his Week 1 debut against the 49ers could push the award toward Cleveland linebacker Carson Schwesinger or Atlanta edge rusher James Pearce Jr.

Early indications are a rookie of the year honor is small potatoes as opposed to what could come in future years. Like maybe NFL Defensive Player of the Year?

“Wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Seattle safety Julien Love said.

At age 21 and a second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall) from South Carolina, Emmanwori is a big reason why the Seahawks defense has gone for good to borderline great. A dominating Super Bowl performance could bring that kind of respect.

In 14 games with 11 starts, Emmanwori had 81 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, nine tackles for loss and an interception. He did all this at age 21 and with myriad responsibilities with help from a defensive plan that played to his strengths while avoiding an information overload that could cause Emmanwori to lose a step.

“It’s just me knowing what type of player I can be and getting drafted to the right team,” Emmanwori said. “I expected to come in and make an impact. I knew I could play multiple positions. I just needed a coaching staff that had a great plan for me and wasn’t scared to work outside the box in Year 1. There’s no time to wait. The time is now.”

The only thing as impressive as Emmanwori’s physical skills, long arms and 4.38 speed in the 40-yard dash is the serious way in which he approaches his job.

“What’s great about Nick is in addition to all you can see with the physical ability, his eagerness to learn, his urgency and attention to detail and hunger to be great really stands out,” Macdonald said. “Not a lot of guys that are that talented are interested in doing the amount of work it takes for those traits to come to life.”

Macdonald and his staff crafted a plan in which Emmanwori originally lined up as an unusually large slot corner, which has him closer to the action and with the ability to be a defensive chess piece in the way Christian McCaffrey is an offensive chess piece for the 49ers.

“We know he’s not going to be 20 yards off the line of scrimmage,” McDaniels told the Ross Tucker Podcast. “We have to account for him every single play.”

Starting Emmanwori in the slot, Love believes, accelerated a development that was already ahead of the curve.

“Over time, Mike allowed him to do a lot more things out of that slot,” Love said. “But Mike was great about, just, ‘Hey, you’re going to learn this position for us. You don’t need to learn deep safety, corner, or linebacker. You’re going to learn nickel and build off that.'”

Emmanwori’s practice day includes a one-on-one pre-practice strategy session with coaches to determine the plan of action for each day.

“During training camp, I showed them what type of player I was,” Emmanwori said. “I can blitz. I can cover, play in the box. If I need to, I can play safety. I can pretty much do everything. They just had to make it simple for me and make it a clean plan. And that’s what we did.”

Emmanwori speaks with a matter-of-fact confidence that’s not boastful. And the way he’s carried himself has won the veterans over. When cornerback Riq Woolen drew a taunting foul and then a defensive foul before the score got out of hand, it was Emmanwori who took charge and had a few words with Woolen on the sideline.

“It’s not some secret thing that he said to the vets, but his daily approach and mentality that he’s had,” Macdonald said. “He’s earned the respect of his teammates and I give respect to the veterans. They’ve created an environment where he can grow and be himself.”

Emmanwori does have a social media edge. Following the divisional win over the 49ers, Emmanwori showed footage of the 49ers getting crazy in pregame warmups in preparation for the game. Emmanwori’s social-media response after their 41-6 win?

“Fake ahh energy. None of that was on display at all.”

Yet Emmanwori has professed an admiration for Fred Warner, an All-Pro linebacker who was a hybrid safety/linebacker at Brigham Young and converted to a sideline-to-sideline linebacker for the 49ers.

“Every time he takes the field, you definitely can tell he knows what type of player he is,” Emmanwori said. “He’s just a different breed. I mean, he literally does everything from the linebacker position, covering tight ends, zone drops, interceptions, tackles for loss.”

The 49ers are probably wondering how they missed out on putting Emmanwori on the field with Warner considering he went No. 35 overall. Mykel Williams, a powerful base end, was their first pick at No. 11, followed by defensive tackle Alfred Collins at No. 43.

He was there for the taking at No. 11, and there still with a trade-up in the second round. Now the 49ers will have to face Emmanwori twice a year into the future.

“I mean, just look at the guy,” said Seattle tight end Eric Saubert, a 49ers reserve last season. “He’s not built like your typical defensive player. He’s got my height, long arms and moes like a corner. He’s a freak of nature and we found out pretty early how talented he is.”

And he’s just getting started.

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV said, “To be that big, do the things he does, Nick is a unicorn in our sport. But he’s still our rookie.”