Nick Emmanwori passes Seahawks physical
Plus answering more Super Joes questions about players and coaches
A month after ankle surgery, Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori has passed his physical and is on track to return in a reasonable time frame.
This does not mean that Emmanwori will come off of PUP and start practicing immediately. The Seahawks are taking the long-term approach with Emmanwori, not just trying to get him back at practice. Here’s what Mike Macdonald said at the start of camp:
"I think the best way to describe it is something that he's been dealing with since the Super Bowl, he was able to perform, like able to train, do some things in the offseason program, but just got to the point where it was the best for him for the long term, just to go ahead and get it fixed," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said at the beginning of training camp. "And so that's what we all decided to do. It's really the best thing for him, for now and the foreseeable future, for the rest of his career."
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that Emmanwori’s Week 1 availability is not a certainty.
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JohnnyLondon: Using the metric you think is the most valuable (if there is a single advanced stat that has prominence, I just don’t want this to be too burdensome) how did the three units belonging to the Hawks, Rams and Niners rank against last year?
Then, playing Nostradamus, however foolish that might be, how do you predict those teams will rank against that metric this season?
I won’t say there is such a metric. What do they call it in science? The God Particle? No “God Particle” football stat. But I’ll use DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) just because it’s probably become the most well-known of the all encompassing team stats that attempt to incorporate things like strength of opponent and situational value.
These 2025 ranks come from FTNFantasy:
Seahawks offense/defense/special teams: 10th/1st/2nd
Rams offense/defense/special teams: 1st/4th/26th
49ers offense/defense/special teams: 2nd/27th/13th
Cardinals offense/defense/special teams: 24th/21st/30th
The Seahawks were the only NFL team to be top-10 across the board, and within the NFC West they far outpaced two teams on defense, while also boasting elite special teams.
Arizona Cardinals-Better Offense
The team changing the most is probably the Cardinals, simply by way of hiring former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as the new head coach, but surprisingly most of their personnel will be the same. Even Jacoby Brissett was a superior quarterback to Kyler Murray (named Vikings starter on Tuesday) last season.
By changing offensive coordinators, drafting Jeremiyah Love, and bringing back weapons like Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Michael Wilson, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Arizona become a top-18 offense and win 6-8 games.
San Francisco 49ers-Worse Offense?
The 49ers were so bad defensively last season that we should assume some level of a rebound, especially if they get back Fred Warner and Nick Bosa without many setbacks. Warner is healthy, but Bosa’s been banged up. Robert Saleh has also been replaced by Raheem Morris, a worse defensive coordinator.
Offensively, ranking second feels like an over-achievement and they have already had their running back and wide receiver rooms decimated in training camp, while George Kittle is returning from the torn Achilles he suffered against the Seahawks in the playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams-Better Defense
Everybody knows the Rams have added Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, as well as another cornerback in former WSU player Jaylen Watson. L.A.’s ranking of fourth in Defensive DVOA feels inflated, especially considering how they collapsed against good teams down the stretch last year. So maybe the Rams will just have a more legitimate top-5 defense.
But will their special teams not be so terrible? The have another new special teams coordinator but L.A.’s been consistently bad there under Sean McVay.
Stabs at 2026 rankings:
Seahawks, I think they can repeat as DVOA defense champions and stay right at the top of special teams; of course, offensive is the question based on how good Brian Fleury is but they have the potential to be better
Rams, similarly, L.A. could repeat as DVOA offense champions, and improve on defense, although I think their weaknesses (LB) could be exploited, and special teams still seems bad
49ers, injuries are already mounting again and yet they were so bad on defense that it fees like SF will improve there by default, but get worse on offense
Cardinals, slight improvements across the board while not really competing for the playoffs because the division is so tough and Jacoby Brissett is still not very good
John DeLorie: My burning questions for years have been how the Seahawks go about sifting through literally THOUSANDS of athletes to rank them all in order of interest, and then pursue them.
I am also curious if they track their evaluations over time for accuracy to try to correct for past mistakes?
Nick Vannett coming back is an interesting case.
Do they just watch recent film for evaluation, or have they been watching his development since he left the Hawks?
It probably becomes easier to sift through players when you break it down to a specific need at a specific time. For Vannett, I think after the draft and minicamp, Seattle was expecting to need a veteran tight end going into camp and John Schneider already knew him and he was available:
“Schneider and his Seahawks’ pro personnel staff knew this offseason the unsigned Vannett still felt like playing. Last month, they reached out to him and his agent to invite him for a tryout and gauge his interest in returning to where it all started.
They agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract worth $1.3 million, about the veteran minimum.
“Nick can do all the things at tight end, and that’s what we’re looking for in our guys,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “He had a great workout. This is a guy (we have) been tracking for a while, so we’ve had a great relationship with him over the years. “He’s done a great job since he’s been here.””
In Vannett’s case, there can’t be that much valuable film out there. He hasn’t caught a pass since 2024, and he didn’t play that many snaps after the Seahawks traded him to the Steelers. Instead, maybe what Seattle saw in Vannett was a veteran roster presence for A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo to model as a teammate, not so much a player who they expect to see the field.
Vannett feels like a veteran practice squad addition. But even then, the Seahawks went to another veteran, Harrison Bryant, before Vannett.
For what it’s worth, Seattle’s pro scouting department has no other job besides keeping close tabs on veterans around the NFL. And the Seahawks had to make a lot of changes to their front office titles this year:
Matt Berry – Assistant General Manager
Willie Schneider - Assistant General Manager
Aaron Hineline – Director of Player Personnel
Armani Perez – Director of Pro Personnel
Jason Barnes – Director of College Scouting
Patrick Ward – Vice President/Research & Analytics
Of course, Nolan Teasley left Seattle to become the new GM of the Minnesota Vikings. Armani Perez was promoted to director of Pro Personnel, while Jason Barnes has the important distinction of overseeing prospects in the draft.
Your “burning question” about keeping tabs on all these prospective future Seahawks is a good one. Perhaps one that John Schneider also likes to keep close to the vest, since Seattle’s keen eye for under-valued talent is key to their consistent success.
John M: Are there other highly regarded defensive coaches today similar to MM? Is MM starting his own coaching branch? Who did he learn his coaching style from?
Mike Macdonald is really more of an “original” than most well-known coordinators. This probably works to his benefit. It’s not like Andy Reid or Bill Belichick have produced a ton of highly-respected offensive or defensive coordinators→head coaches, despite their own personal successes as play callers, head coaches, and Super Bowl winners.
Instead, Macdonald cites his primary mentor as John Harbaugh, unsurprisingly, his longtime head coach with the Baltimore Ravens. But Harbaugh’s background is on special teams, with only dipping a toe into defense, so it’s not like he’s copying Harbaugh’s schemes. There aren’t any.
As a defensive assistant, Macdonald worked for Dean Pees (Pees was, in fact, a defensive coordinator for Belichick) and Wink Martindale prior to his first job as a coordinator with Michigan in 2021. And the Ravens continued to employ a Rex Ryan-style defense even after Ryan left the team for the Jets in 2009; Martindale’s defensive mentor was Rob Ryan with the Oakland Raiders.
Macdonald picked up a little bit of something from everyone along the way, so in that sense he’s more of a Forrest Gump than he is a Batman/Bruce Wayne.
Current NFL defensive coordinators who worked for Macdonald include:
Anthony Weaver, Ravens (HC Jesse Minter followed MM at Michigan)
Dennard Wilson, Giants (HC John Harbaugh)
Aden Durde, Seahawks
Zach Orr took Macdonald’s DC job when he left for Seattle, but is now back on Macdonald’s staff with the Seahawks.
L.A.’s Chris Shula is probably seen as the defensive coordinator most likely to get a head coaching position after the season, but will have pressure to deliver after the team added Garrett and McDuffie. His interviews reportedly did not go well last year, although that could be bullshit.
Christian Parker is the youngest defensive coordinator (34) in Cowboys history and has spent the last two years learning from Vic Fangio.
The Cardinals fought hard to keep defensive coordinator Nick Rallis after they fired Jonathan Gannon, and Rallis is a 33-year-old going into his fourth season on the job. That’s rare.
Then you’ve certainly go anyone who has worked under Macdonald, including Durde, Weaver, Wilson, and even Orr. Look at Minter’s rise from assistant to defensive coordinator to head coach in a few short years.
At this point, everyone is looking for the next Mike Macdonald—even the teams that like their head coach would still like an elite defensive coordinator—except for the Seahawks.
IdahoFred: When is there going to be another picture of Clark?
