The Seahawks shocked a lot of people by passing on Jalen Carter or Tyree Wilson, either of which could have immediately reinforced their light front seven. But I have no issue with this pick, because Witherspoon is exactly the kind of cornerback Pete Carroll loves — smart, aggressive, and a shutdown guy from start to finish. With Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen, the Seahawks have a potential cornerback duo that might be better than any duo they had in the Legion of Boom days, given that Richard Sherman never had a true No. 1 bookend.
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Height: 5′ 11½” (54th) Weight: 181 (10th)
40-Yard Dash: N/A
10-Yard Split: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: 73⅝” (18th)
Arm Length: 31¼” (42nd)
Hand Size: 8⅞” (25th)
Bio: Witherspoon was the 2018 Pensacola (Florida) Defensive Player of the Year out of Pine Forest High School, a feat cinched by his seven interceptions in his senior year. He had 329 snaps in 2019 as a true freshman for Illinois, showing impressive maturity in coverage and run support, and he’s been a factor ever since.
Over four seasons, he had two sacks, six total pressures, 118 tackles, 46 stops, and he allowed 88 catches on 172 targets for 1,168, yards, 492 yards after the catch, five touchdowns, five interceptions, 22 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 70.6. Witherspoon had 1,968 college snaps at outside cornerback, 229 in the slot, 69 along the defensive line, 56 in the box, and 12 at free safety.
Stat to Know: Witherspoon picked the right year to put it all together at an utterly ridiculous level — in 2022, he allowed just 22 catches on 62 targets for 209 yards, 71 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 25.3. That was by far the lowest passer rating allowed for any FCS cornerback in the 2023 class — Tulsa’s Jaise Oliver finished second at 37.4.
Strengths: Any cornerback is going to be tested deep, especially when he gets to the NFL level. Quarterbacks testing Witherspoon deep might want to have a Plan B, because his combination of backpedal, transitional movement, and balletic footwork make such completions quite difficult.
Quarterbacks targeted Devon Witherspoon 15 times on passes of 20 or more air yards last season. This was a Very Bad Idea, as Witherspoon allowed ONE CATCH for 39 yards, no TD, and two INT. One of many reasons he's my CB1. The footwork for a guy his size is just special. pic.twitter.com/dAOid5F84o
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 31, 2023
Witherspoon allowed an opponent quarterback rating of 0.0 on deep passes in 2022. Yes, he went Full Blutarsky.
But it’s when Witherspoon is defending short and intermediate passes that you really see the unusual footwork for his size. He has what I call “match feet,” which allow him to trail receivers through any bend and angle, and then just snuff things out at the catch point.
Witherspoon’s NFL team will love his alpha playing personality — whether he’s tracking a receiver or stopping the run, he goes all-out to the ball, and he’s bis and aggressive enough to make those hits stick.
Weaknesses: That aggression does come with a potential price — Witherspoon was penalized six times in the 2022 season, but NFL officials (such as they are) may find that his proclivity for nearness to the receiver when the ball shows up lands on the wrong side of pass interference more often than one would prefer. He’s going to have to time those hits and breakups microscopically at the next level.
There aren’t a lot of massive dings in his game, but Witherspoon can get beaten by savvier receivers on angular routes right when those routes start to turn. His grabby demeanor might be an adaptive strategy; it’ll certainly bear watching for his NFL coaches.
Conclusion: Illinois has become an underrated “DBU” over the last couple of years. Two of the Fighting Illinis’ safeties in this class (Sydney Brown and Jartavius Martin) made out top 9 list there, and 2022 graduate Kerby Joseph, a third-round pick by the Lions, picked Aaron Rodgers off three times in his rookie season. With all that said, Witherspoon comes out of the gate with the most obvious NFL skill set of all these players, and his blend of size, aggressiveness, and transition speed should make him a plus starter at the next level as soon as possible.
NFL Comparison: Sam Madison. Selected by the Dolphins in the second round of the 1997 draft out of Louisville, Madison transcended any concerns about his size (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) with great movement skills and the toughness to take any receiver right to the woodshed. Madison parlayed all that into four Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro nominations. Witherspoon seems to have the tools to possibly put up an equivalent NFL career, given the right home.
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