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Our countdown to kickoff has no more days to count, with the New Orleans Saints hosting the Arizona Cardinals in their regular season opener this afternoon. Wearing the No. 0 for the Saints is defensive back Ugo Amadi. Entering his third year with the team, Amadi is the last of our annual Saints Player of the Day series. This is a closer look at his background and career.
A four-star recruit out of John Overton High School in Tennessee, Ugo Amadi would commit to Oregon and contributed immediately as a true freshman in 2015. Primarily a cornerback for the Ducks, Amadi had 8 interceptions over his four seasons, including three in both of his last two years. He returned 2 of those picks for touchdowns as a senior, adding 25 pass breakups, 3 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries with a score over his career.
Amadi was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He didn't see much action on defense as a rookie, but carved out a role on special teams. Amadi earned more defensive snaps over his next two years, intercepting 1 pass and breaking up 13 others while forcing 2 fumbles and recording 6 tackles for loss. During 2022 training camp, Seattle traded Amadi to the Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded him to the Tennessee Titans less than two weeks later. Midway through the 2022 season, the Titans released Amadi. He was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he finished the year and earned a Super Bowl LVII ring as a special teams contributor.
New Orleans signed Amadi as a free agent during the 2023 offseason. He appeared in all 17 contests that season, but mostly on special teams with just 83 snaps on defense. Amadi saw far more action on the defensive side in 2024, playing 69% of the team's snaps on that side of the ball. From safety and slot corner, Amadi broke up 7 passes while giving up a 64.8% completion rate when targeted. He also had 2 sacks and 6 tackles for loss among his 65 total stops, all three career high numbers.
Ugo Amadi is expected to compete for snaps as primarily a slot corner behind Alontae Taylor, but can also fill in at safety. He's going to be a big part of special teams packages as well, particularly with the recent release of J.T. Gray. Amadi strengthens the depth of a new-look New Orleans defensive backfield that lost five members off last year's unit.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Ugo Amadi is the Saints Player of Day 0
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- Name (age): Ugochukwu Amadi (28)
- Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
- Position: Safety
- Height, weight: 5-foot-9, 201 pounds
- College: Oregon Ducks
- Relative Athletic Score: 5.34
- Drafted: Round 4, 132 overall in 2019 (Seattle Seahawks)
- NFL experience: 6 years
- 2025 salary cap hit: $1,140,000
A four-star recruit out of John Overton High School in Tennessee, Ugo Amadi would commit to Oregon and contributed immediately as a true freshman in 2015. Primarily a cornerback for the Ducks, Amadi had 8 interceptions over his four seasons, including three in both of his last two years. He returned 2 of those picks for touchdowns as a senior, adding 25 pass breakups, 3 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries with a score over his career.
Amadi was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He didn't see much action on defense as a rookie, but carved out a role on special teams. Amadi earned more defensive snaps over his next two years, intercepting 1 pass and breaking up 13 others while forcing 2 fumbles and recording 6 tackles for loss. During 2022 training camp, Seattle traded Amadi to the Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded him to the Tennessee Titans less than two weeks later. Midway through the 2022 season, the Titans released Amadi. He was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he finished the year and earned a Super Bowl LVII ring as a special teams contributor.
New Orleans signed Amadi as a free agent during the 2023 offseason. He appeared in all 17 contests that season, but mostly on special teams with just 83 snaps on defense. Amadi saw far more action on the defensive side in 2024, playing 69% of the team's snaps on that side of the ball. From safety and slot corner, Amadi broke up 7 passes while giving up a 64.8% completion rate when targeted. He also had 2 sacks and 6 tackles for loss among his 65 total stops, all three career high numbers.
Ugo Amadi is expected to compete for snaps as primarily a slot corner behind Alontae Taylor, but can also fill in at safety. He's going to be a big part of special teams packages as well, particularly with the recent release of J.T. Gray. Amadi strengthens the depth of a new-look New Orleans defensive backfield that lost five members off last year's unit.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Ugo Amadi is the Saints Player of Day 0
Continue reading...
