Nwangwu, 6-1 210, comes to the Saints after spending three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. The Frisco, Texas native was originally drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Iowa State. With Minnesota, Nwangwu appeared in 37 games over three years, running 27 times for 88 yards and catching six passes for 30 yards. Nwangwu made a significant impact during his time with the Vikings as the primary kick returner, returning 68 kicks for 1,879 yards (27.6 avg.) with three touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2021, Nwangwu leads the NFL in kickoff return touchdowns. The dynamic playmaker was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Week 9 in 2021 and Week 12 in 2022) and was also named Second Team All-Pro by the Associated Press as a returner in 2022.
While at Iowa State, Nwangwu appeared in 50 games, hauling in 143 carries for 776 yards with four touchdowns, and also caught seven passes for 57 yards. Nwangwu was the primary kick returner during his Cyclone career (2016-20), returning 92 kicks for 2,470 yards and one touchdown. His 2,470 career kickoff return yards are a school record and rank third-most all-time in Big 12 history. In his final season with the Cyclones in 2020, he also averaged 28.9 yards on kickoff returns, the second-best mark in school history. In 2020, Nwangwu was named Co-Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year after making Academic All-Big 12 three times during his career.
