South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori Stuns NFL Scouts with Historic Combine Performance!
Veteran ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay has seen plenty of jaw-dropping performances over the years, but South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori delivered something truly special at the NFL Combine.
Appearing on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, McShay couldn’t contain his amazement, calling Emmanwori’s performance the biggest headline from Indianapolis.
“There’s only a few times in combine history where you can legitimately say a human being shouldn’t be able to do this,” McShay said. “Emmanwori was one of those times. I think back to guys like Calvin Johnson, DK Metcalf—just freak athletes. He’s a massive safety at 6’3”, 220 pounds, and no one has ever done what he just did.”
And what he did was historic.
Emmanwori ran a blistering 4.38-second 40-yard dash, recorded a 43-inch vertical jump, and posted an 11’6” broad jump—making him the first safety in combine history to run under 4.4 seconds while also clearing 43 inches in the vertical and 11 feet in the broad jump, per NBC’s Pro Football Talk.
McShay sees a clear path for Emmanwori in today’s NFL, comparing him to Kyle Hamilton, the do-it-all Baltimore Ravens safety.
“The league is searching for long, versatile safeties who can cover and be chess pieces on defense,” McShay explained. “For me, he stole the show. You just don’t see guys that size move and jump the way he did.”
Of course, combine numbers can be deceiving, and plenty of players have skyrocketed up draft boards based on workouts alone. But as Ryen Russillo pointed out, Emmanwori’s game tape speaks for itself.
“Anybody who watched South Carolina this year knows the film backs it all up,” Russillo said. “The testing is just a bonus on top of a guy who was already a game-wrecking safety. I loved watching South Carolina this year. There were so many times you’d just say, ‘There’s No. 7 again.’”
The Irmo, S.C., native put together an impressive college career, racking up 244 tackles, six interceptions, and two pick-sixes over 37 career games (36 starts). A Freshman All-American and first-team All-American as a junior, Emmanwori entered the combine ranked as the No. 2 safety prospect by most analysts. Now, after his performance, he may have surpassed Georgia’s Malaki Starks as the top safety in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Most mock drafts now project Emmanwori as a first-round pick, and McShay believes no one helped their draft stock more than he did.
“When teams are looking for elite traits and players who can make a defense more versatile, Emmanwori checks every box,” McShay said. “I don’t know if any player at the combine helped themselves more than he did.”
