Following a Pro Bowl rookie season that saw 2023 No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon finish fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, an even bigger jump was expected for the former Illinois standout in his second season.
Witherspoon’s impact hasn’t been nearly as obvious, and the midseason stats back that up. But that doesn’t mean he’s regressed, especially as he adjusts to a new Seattle Seahawks defensive system under Mike Macdonald.
He hasn’t been as effective rushing the passer, doesn’t have an interception this season, has allowed more receiving yards in coverage and has missed tackles at a higher rate. Still, it seems to be a product of opportunities (or lack thereof), not a drop in performance.
Witherspoon rookie stats (14 games played)
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus
Tackles: 79 (56 solo)
Pass deflections: 16
Interceptions: 1 (returned for touchdown)
Forced fumbles: 1
Tackles for loss: 8
Sacks: 3.0
Coverage stats: 39 receptions (68 targets), 396 yards, 4 TD
Missed tackle rate: 12.1 percent
Witherspoon sophomore stats (9 games)
Tackles: 51 (34 solo)
Pass deflections: 3
Interceptions: 0
Forced fumbles: 1
Tackles for loss: 1
Sacks: 0
Coverage stats: 37 receptions (50 targets), 323 yards, 0 TD
Missed tackle rate: 16.4 percent
Witherspoon is still flying around the field. He’s been arguably better in run defense this season than in 2023, forcing 21 stops — a play that results in a failure for the offense, per Pro Football Focus — after having 28 all last season. Additionally, he’s still delivering punishing hits that make ball carriers fear his area of the field.
That said, there has not been the jump in his play that many expected after being arguably Seattle’s best defender as a rookie. He’s allowing about 4.1 catches for 35.9 yards per game this season after allowing just 2.8 catches for 28.3 yards as a rookie. However, he has not allowed a touchdown so far in 2024.
The pass rush numbers stand out as well. Witherspoon had a 33.3 percent pressure rate and three sacks on 30 pass rush snaps last season, and that’s plummeted to zero sacks and a 13 percent pressure rate. He’s still rushing the passer, but he’s not impacting the quarterback as much as he was as a rookie.
What’s maybe the most striking difference between Witherspoon’s rookie and sophomore seasons is the lack of pass deflections. He just hasn’t had many standout plays on the football in the passing game — a key role he filled for the Seahawks last season.
As a rookie, it felt like Witherspoon was making plays all over the field. The first thought is whether Macdonald is simply using him differently than Pete Carroll was, but that’s not exactly the case. He’s rushing the passer on 6 percent of coverage snaps this season and did so 5.5 percent of the time last year. Witherspoon’s alignment has been similar as well.
Of his 587 defensive snaps this season, Witherspoon has lined up in the slot 47.5 percent of the time and is in the box on 14.8 percent of snaps. Last year, those numbers were 47.6 and 10.3 percent, respectively (883 snaps). That’s a negligible difference.
It might just be a slump. Witherspoon has incredible talent and athleticism, but it’s the NFL. Stretches of down games happen for even the league’s best players, and it may just take time for him to find his groove in Macdonald’s system.
A strong second half of the season from Witherspoon would be a welcome enhancement to Seattle’s defense. At 4-5 overall, the Seahawks need every playmaker to step up for the latter stretch of the campaign.
