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Seattle Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon Among Top 100 NFL Players

Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is already one of the NFL's best in his second season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Jeremy Brener

New York Giants wide receiver Parris Campbell (0) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) in the first half at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in East Rutherford.
New York Giants wide receiver Parris Campbell (0) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) in the first half at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in East Rutherford. / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Seattle Seahawks expected to get a strong player with the No. 5 overall pick in last year's draft in Devon Witherspoon, but the team may not have anticipated getting someone who can compete with the NFL's best right out of the gate.

ESPN ranked the top 100 players going into the season and Witherspoon clocked in at No. 84.

"Mike Macdonald got the most out of his players as Baltimore's defensive coordinator," ESPN insider Brady Henderson writes. "Now Seattle's coach, he may not have a more talented player on that side of the ball than Witherspoon, the fifth pick in 2023 who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Witherspoon proved to be instinctive in coverage, physical in run defense and disruptive as a blitzer out of the slot, racking up three sacks. Can Macdonald's scheme help him go from Pro Bowl to All-Pro?"

Witherspoon, 23, will be expected to lead the Seahawks cornerback room alongside Riq Woolen, Tre Brown, Nehemiah Pritchett, Dee Williams, who all made the 53-man roster out of training camp.

Last season, Witherspoon's 12 pass breakups ranked third in the entire NFL, so you can only imagine what a full offseason and a defensive-minded coach will do for the second-year pro out of Illinois.

If he continues along this trajectory, Witherspoon should be even higher on this list in a year from now.

Witherspoon and the Seahawks will get some rest this week before they embark on the regular season, which starts on Sunday, Sept. 8 when the Denver Broncos come to town.

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Jeremy Brener

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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