Two popular picks for the Indianapolis Colts in many 2025 NFL mock drafts have been Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Georgia safety Malaki Starks.
However, in a recent mock draft from the Bleacher Report Scouting Department, with both Warren and Starks available at pick No. 14, the Colts went in a different direction by taking South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori.
“Ballard is the NFL’s traits-hunter,” said Brent Sobleski. “He’s going to find the most athletic guys in the class and draft them. He adheres more strongly to relative athletic scores than modern musicians rely on Auto-Tune. Emmanwori is an explosive 6’3″, 227-pound athlete, who can be used all over the field.”
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Emmanwori go to the Colts. NFL.com’s Eric Edholm mentioned Emmanwori as someone who can scale big boards in the coming months.
As Sobleski lays out, Emmanwori has excellent size and is a good athlete to pair with that.
In three seasons at South Carolina, Emmanwori has played over 2,300 snaps with the bulk of them coming closer to the line of scrimmage, according to PFF’s tracking.
This factor is noteworthy because with Nick Cross playing strong safety last season, what the Colts specifically need is a free safety. So some potential maneuvering between the two might have to take place.
Emmanwori was a reliable tackler last season, making 90 of his 97 attempts. In coverage, he allowed just 8.3 yards per catch with four interceptions and three pass breakups.
The need at the safety position is three-fold. For starters, they need improved play throughout the secondary as GM Chris Ballard said after the season. This includes limiting explosive plays, last season the Colts gave up the 8th most yards per pass attempt.
But in addition to that, the Colts need depth at the position with only Cross, Rodney Thomas, and Marcel Dabo under contract in 2025 at the moment.
Lastly, in Lou Anarumo’s defense, where versatility and coverage disguise is at a premium, a lot can be put on the safety’s plate, so a reliable presence on the back end is vital.