When the Seattle Seahawks selected versatile defensive back Ugo Amadi in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft, many expected he would step into Justin Coleman’s old role at nickelback.
That appears to be the case, even after coach Pete Carroll indicated the plan is to have him start out at safety. Rookie minicamp gave Carroll and the rest of the staff a chance to see him in action, and they liked what they saw out of Amadi in the nickel role.
“He’s a very well-versed football player and had no problem,” Carroll commented on Sunday after the final day of camp. “He played nickel and safety. Played a lot of nickel in the camp, which was good. More than I thought he would. And he was very comfortable there.”
Amadi saw time at both nickel and safety while in college, as well as contributing heavily on the special teams. His versatility was a big part of the reason the Seahawks drafted him in the first place, especially with needs nearly everywhere in their secondary.
Amadi was not as surprised as Carroll he played so much nickel while at minicamp.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Amadi commented on Friday. “I knew that my versatility, that I just expected to do anything today. It went very well for me. I understood their scheme a lot, a lot quicker just from the system I came from so I just adapted a lot quicker.”
Amadi’s versatility will make him an impact performer for the Seahawks, regardless of if he takes over as the starting nickel or not.
