Stop saying he's Kyle Hamilton
Mel Kiper's mock draft pick for the Seahawks is a lazy comparison and poor fit for the first round
In his latest mock draft for ESPN, which is notable for us because now Seahawks fans/writers will pay closer attention to this prospect, Mel Kiper had Seattle picking “safety” Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina.
“Emmanwori reminds me of Kyle Hamilton, whom Seattle coach Mike Macdonald worked with perviously as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023. We witnessed Emmanwori’s speed (4.38 in the 40) and explosiveness (43” in the vertical) at the combine, and we saw his ball hawking traits (four picks) last season. Emmanwori would help bolster an already strong secondary in Seattle.”
It’s not that the Seahawks would never draft Emmanwori (he has an official visit scheduled with Seattle), but invoking the name “Kyle Hamilton” is a massive stretch and Kiper probably doesn’t do it because he looked at the Seahawks and looked Emmanwori and thought, “This is a good fit plus he really is a lot like Hamilton”.
He probably made the comparison because he looked at Mike Macdonald and asked himself, “Is there anyone in this draft kind of like Kyle Hamilton?”
“Oh hey, Macdonald coached the Ravens. The Ravens most popular defensive player is Hamilton. He’s a hybrid safety-linebacker. Emmanwori’s kind of a hybrid player? Sure, Emmanwori “reminds me” of Hamilton, why not? Oh and Emmanwori is a better athlete than Hamilton too!”
Though Hamilton was drafted 14th overall in 2022, he was considered one of the ultimate steals of the first round, as no GM would’ve been criticized for picking him in the top-5. If not for a 4.59 40-yard dash, since proven to be meaningless, Hamilton probably would have gone that high. He was that great of a prospect three years ago.
Emmanwori is a good prospect. He’s not one of the best football players to enter the NFL in the last five years, like Hamilton.
If the Seahawks draft Emmanwori at 18, then Macdonald and John Schneider must have a sense that he could be one of the NFC’s best defensive players in 2-3 years. It couldn’t be to help right away (he’s not taking Coby Bryant’s job at free safety, Julian Love’s job at strong safety, or Devon Witherspoon’s job at nickel) but their interest in Emmanwori could go beyond filling a role in 2025.
And it could be later than pick 18.
While Hamilton’s NFL comparison by Lance Zierlein was Kam Chancellor (the player that Kiper wants to pretend Emmanwori should be compared to), Emmanwori’s comparison is Jeremy Chinn. A totally fine, okay starter…who would never get drafted in the first round.
While Hamilton’s draft profile had buzz words like “unicorn”, “All-Pro”, and being a “rare find” who “provides it all” with almost no negatives, Zierlein’s FIRST line in Emmanwori’s profile is that how much you like him as a prospect “depends on which games you watch”.
Mel Kiper compares Emmanwori to Hamilton because one was a first round safety who the Ravens drafted when Macdonald happened to be the defensive coordinator, while the other is a safety who is merely projected to go around the time that the Seahawks are on the clock.
Will anyone bring up Hamilton’s name if Emmanwori gets drafted by any team other than the Seahawks?
This is not meant to be an anti-Emmanwori post — he could be a great NFL player — but merely an evaluation of a draft prospect and the likelihood that he would be picked by the Seattle Seahawks at 18. And as Seahawks fans get caught up in the buzz that will follow Emmanwori this week because of Kiper’s mock and Seattle’s scheduled visit, it is the right time share some healthy counterpoints.