Eric Edholm of NFL.com put together his first 2025 NFL mock draft, and has the Indianapolis Colts addressing the secondary with the 14th overall pick.
In this mock, Edholm has the Colts selecting South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. Edholm says that he thinks Emmanwori is a prospect who can rise up draft boards during the pre-draft process.
This isn’t the first prominent mock draft to have Emmanwori connected to the Colts. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. mentioned him as an option as well at pick 14.
Emmanwori has very good size, measuring in at 6-3 – 227 pounds. He’s played over 2,300 snaps these last three seasons with the majority of them coming closer to the line of scrimmage, either in the box or in the nickel.
With Nick Cross primarily playing the strong safety role last season, there would have to be some maneuvering here between the two.
In this most recent season, Emmanwori was a reliable tackler, making 90-of-97 attempts. As a coverage defender, he held pass catchers to only 8.3 yards per catch with four interceptions and three pass breakups.
For more on Emmanwori, here is a snippet of what Lance Zierlein said in his scouting report:
“He’s capable of playing over the top, inside the box or even matching up with pass-catching tight ends. He’s upright with average transition fluidity in coverage, but he has great recovery speed and uses his length to throw a blanket over the catch point.”
The safety position is one of the biggest needs the Colts have. For one, improved play is a must with the Indianapolis secondary as a whole ranking in the bottom third of the NFL in several key categories last season, including yards per attempt allowed and completion rate.
But in addition to that, only Cross, Rodney Thomas, and Marcel Dabo are under contract for the 2025 season currently.
“We’ve got to get better,” said Chris Ballard about the cornerback and safety positions.