It’s not hard to pick the player that were most excited to watch in 2024. Second-year Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon was one of the best slot corners in the NFL as a rookie and he may have the highest ceiling of any young defender in the game today. A lot of folks agree.
Over at NFL.com, they came out with a list of one player to root for this year for each team. Dan Parr chose Witherspoon for Seattle.
“Could Witherspoon go from a DROY candidate to a DPOY contender in Year 2? It’s a big jump to make, but I wouldn’t put it past him after his stellar debut for the ‘Hawks. The fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft had the fourth-highest PFF grade among cornerbacks last season. He made plays all over the field, posting three sacks, four QB hits and eight tackles for loss (leading rookie DBs in each category). With defensive guru Mike Macdonald taking over as head coach in Seattle and already singing the young cover man’s praises — while also getting a good feel for his versatility — I’m excited to see if Witherspoon can take the next step in 2024.”
There wasn’t much that Witherspoon struggled with as a rookie. However, late in the season tackling became an issue, particularly against Pittsburgh. Witherspoon bounced back from that poor showing with a strong Week 18 game against Arizona, but he finished the year having missed 12 tackle attempts (13.2%). Aside from getting that number down, Witherspoon will just have to continue to flourish doing what he does best.
