National Football League

Seahawks rookie Devon Witherspoon could be X-factor for talented secondary

Updated Aug. 17, 2023 4:41 p.m. ET

For Devon Witherspoon, it doesn't matter where his new team puts him on the field. He'll find the football and make a play.

"I don't really have a preference," Witherspoon told reporters. "Whatever Coach needs me to do, I'll go do it."

The Seattle Seahawks are tinkering with putting Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall selection in this year's draft, at slot defender to get the best 11 defenders on the field.

Currently, Pro Bowler Tariq Woolen and Michael Jackson are slated to start on the outside at cornerback. Playing inside wouldn't be totally new for Witherspoon. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 109 snaps at slot corner during his final season at Illinois.

"It's going smooth," Witherspoon told reporters about playing inside. "It was an easy transition once I got it down pat. Just keep getting a lot of reps at nickel, and then just kind of slow it down, bring it to your speed of the game. It's a real easy transition, especially in our defense."

Coby Bryant, last year's starting slot defender for the Seahawks, has moved to safety as coach Pete Carroll works to find the right mix in his loaded secondary.

So far, defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt said he likes what he has seen from Witherspoon at slot corner. However, Witherspoon has missed reps since Aug. 7 because of a lingering hamstring issue and did not play in Seattle's first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. The injury could also cause him to miss the game Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys.

"He has great instincts and feel," Hurtt said of Witherspoon. "That's what goes on in that position. The nickel can be a hard transition for young people because now you have the whole field as opposed to just being outside all day long. He has unbelievable instincts, feel and understanding, so we want to continue to grow and develop him. There's an ongoing competition there with him and Coby for that spot."

Hurtt has the tough task of trying to get the best players on the field. If everyone is healthy, Seattle's starting secondary would likely be Pro Bowler Quandre Diggs and Julian Love at safety, with Woolen and Jackson at corner, Witherspoon as the slot defender and Jamal Adams at weak-side linebacker when he recovers from a torn quad.

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In 2022, the Seahawks used at least five defensive backs on 70% of their snaps during the regular season, per Next Gen Stats.

"You just have to keep switching it up," Love said. "Teams that are multiple are successful on defense. You got to have guys to do multiple roles, playing multiple things, and that's what we're hopefully trying to accomplish."

Bryant, along with cornerback Tre Brown and undrafted rookie safety Jonathan Sutherland, have also flashed during training camp. Seattle has the most depth in the secondary since the Legion of Boom days of Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. In 2013, nine of the 10 cornerbacks who started the year on the team's training camp roster made an appearance for an NFL team during the regular season.

"It's rare to have guys competing that all can start," Carroll said. "When we get Witherspoon back out there, we'll have four guys that have a chance to start. We're in good shape there."

A healthy Witherspoon could be one of the keys to an improved defense for the Seahawks. Because of his ability to be physical in the run game and play sticky coverage in the back end defensively, Witherspoon could be an X-factor when Seattle uses sub packages on third down and in the red zone.

"There's a way he approaches the game," Woolen said about his new teammate. "His attitude about the game, he doesn't care about the whole new level. He just comes in and approaches it like he's a big dog. And I like that because you need a guy like that on your team, especially a young guy. He's just been balling through camp and his confidence has been showing out there."

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Along with players like Adams, Uchenna Nwosu and Bobby Wagner, the 6-foot, 185-pound Witherspoon provides a physical presence in both the running and passing game.

"It's part of my game that people should realize that I bring to the table," Witherspoon told reporters. "I'm kind of undersized, but I just don't want people to underestimate me thinking, ‘Oh he's not that big so he won't hit you.' That's a lie. I just try to be as physical as I can be and want to bring a lot of juice."

However, not everything has gone smoothly for Seattle's first-round pick. He held out the first two days of training camp before receiving a fully guaranteed $32 million deal. And he's dealing with a hamstring injury for the second time in three months, limiting his ability to get comfortable with Seattle's scheme.

For now, the focus is on Witherspoon getting healthy so he can contribute when the games matter most. The Seahawks' first regular-season game is less than a month away, a home contest on Sept. 10 against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.

"I love the spirit and the energy that he brings playing this game," Hurtt said. "It's infectious. With that young kid, that's just how he is all the time. That is something that everybody else will build off."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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