(Photo: The Seattle Times)
I remember Devon Witherspoon in college very well. In 2019, he was the only true freshman to start for the Fighting Illini’s defense and played in every game that year. In 2022, he was a consensus All-American and first-team All-Big Ten. I think what’s rare about Devon is that he played all four seasons in Champaign, which is something you don’t see amongst collegiate athletes these days, considering a lot of them play only a season or two at the most. In 2023, the Seattle Seahawks decided to draft Devon with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, with that pick being a part of the blockbuster trade that sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks picked up his fifth-year option, which is usually a sign that he’s going to get paid. Today, Seattle and their star corner have agreed to a new contract, a four-year deal worth $132 million, which officially makes him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history (for now).
Devon has been nothing but productive since breaking into the league and has become a top-five cornerback in the league today. The first thing I immediately noticed about him was his competitive toughness, and his willingness to tackle is something that also stands out about him. Devon plays big and attacks ball carriers aggressively, which is a major part of his value. In coverage, he has excellent mirror ability with short-area explosiveness and recovery speed, along with having the quickness and ability to remain attached to receivers through breaks. In zone coverage, Devon processes routes well and has those instincts to jump routes rather than just play the receiver. In today’s day and age of football, you must be able to do several things on the field and not just rely on one thing to carry you, which leads me to say Devon is very versatile. Seattle is able to move him around wide on the perimeter and in the slot, and they even use him as a blitzer, which makes him even more valuable in Mike MacDonald’s scheme. I appreciate the fact that he likes getting after the quarterback and travels to the ball. When I watch him play, he moves with the background of a safety and linebacker at times because of the aggression and nose for the ball he has developed. He’s only recorded 4.5 sacks, but Seattle has never been afraid to deploy him and send him on those delayed blitzes.
Devon is a key piece of the defensive puzzle in Seattle, and if any team knows how to develop secondary players, it’s the Seahawks. Look what they did all those years ago with Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, and Brandon Browner when they became known as the “LOB” or the “Legion of Boom.” I’ll say Devon’s overall impact is elite, but his usage has been more based on versatility, if anything. If you’re paying him as the top corner in league history, you want him to show that he can erase the opponent’s number one receiver on a regular basis, and I think he can do it. I can’t wait to see what happens with another corner after this signing.
