NY Jets should target this NFL Combine freak at a position of need

Will the Jets draft Nick Emmanwori?
Nick Emmanwori
Nick Emmanwori | Johnnie Izquierdo/GettyImages

The 2025 NFL Combine has passed, and for the NY Jets, it was a full week of scouting draft prospects who could fill positions of need.

One of the biggest needs Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn will have to fill comes at safety. While it is possible that Tony Adams will return in 2025, Chuck Clark and Ashtyn Davis will most likely find new homes.

This leaves New York needing to find at least two new safeties this offseason, with both potentially needing to step in as starters.

After an impressive performance at this year's NFL Combine, the Jets should have their eyes set on Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina.

NY Jets should target Nick Emmanwori in the 2025 NFL Draft

Nick Emmanwori had a historic week in Indianapolis. After measuring in at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Emmanwori ran an eye-popping 4.38 40-yard dash.

The South Carolina product also dazzled with a 43" vertical and 11'6" broad jump, which both ranked first among all prospects who tested this week in Indianapolis. His 43" vertical was also the highest recorded vertical in NFL Combine history for anyone weighing at least 200 lbs.

Overall, Emmanwori finished with a perfect 10.00 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), which was first out of 1,079 tested strong safeties since 1987. To put it simply, this was an all-time NFL Combine performance from a player who has also put together a very good collegiate career.

Emmanwori spent his entire three-year college career with South Carolina, where he tallied 244 total tackles, 11 passes defended, and six interceptions. The 21-year-old also ranked top-five in tackles among safeties in the SEC in each of his three seasons.

In 2024, Emmanwori was able to post a 79.6 Pro Football Focus grade and an 86.8 coverage grade. The former three-star recruit remained stout against the run and as a tackler, posting a 73.3 run defense grade and just a 7.2% missed tackle rate.

Going into the week, Emmanwori was projected as a late first to early second-round pick. However, after a performance for the ages in Indianapolis, Emmanwori could now go as early as the middle of the first round in April.

The Jets enter the draft with the seventh overall pick in round one and then the 42nd overall pick in early round two. Only time will tell how early or late Emmanwori will go, but if the safety falls to round two, Gang Green should be all over it.

Emmanwori is not only a freak athlete, but he is also very productive as a tackler against the run and in coverage. Those attributes would be a welcome sight in Florham Park.

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