After all-time great NFL Combine, where NFL Draft mocks project South Carolina's Nick Emmanwori
South Carolina football product Nick Emmanwori put up an NFL Combine performance for the ages last week. Measuring 6-3 and 220 pounds, Emmanwori topped all players in Indianapolis in the broad jump (11-6) and vertical (43 inches). He also ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash time among safeties (4.38). With strong work in positional drills and impressive interviews along the way, the Columbia-area native improved his draft stock as much as anyone at the event.
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Several prominent NFL Draft mocks have moved Emmanwori up in their latest projections.
While he hasn’t produced another mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper included Emmanwori among his biggest risers from last week. So did PFF’s Max Chadwick.
The Athletic analyst Dane Brugler released his latest mock this week, and he has Emmanwori coming off the board at No. 13. The Miami Dolphins hold that pick, and if he goes to Miami, Emmanwori would reunite with former Gamecock secondary mate Cam Smith.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, an analyst with his pulse heavily on the NFL Combine last week, matched Brugler’s projection. Also like Brugler, Zierlein has Emmanwori going to Miami as the second defensive back off the board (behind hybrid receiver/corner Travis Hunter).
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ESPN’s Jordan Reid, an NFL Draft expert, also believes Emmanwori has done enough to solidify a spot in the first round. According to Reid, the Denver Broncos will take the All-American at pick No. 20. If accurate, Emmanwori would join fellow Gamecocks Nate Adkins and Nick Gargiulo with the Broncos. (Reid also had USC defensive lineman TJ Sanders drafted at No. 56 to the Buffalo Bills.)
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At this point, any outcome that doesn’t end up with Nick Emmanwori as a first-rounder would feel like a surprise. If that expectation becomes reality, he will be the first South Carolina safety taken in the first round since 1979. That year, hybrid safety/corner Rick Sanford–who played safety full-time in the NFL–went 25th to the New England Patriots.
