Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald uses a two-word phrase to describe the standard he wants his players to live up to on the gridiron: “Shocking effort.”
On Thursday night, standout cornerback Devon Witherspoon was once again the living embodiment of that ideal.
Witherspoon showcased his electric playmaking ability while recording three spectacular tackles for loss during the Seahawks’ smothering 6-3 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The versatile second-year cornerback also had a sack and tied for the team lead with six tackles, helping Seattle limit the Bears to just 179 total yards.
It was yet another reminder of the immense talent and relentless motor that made the 6-foot, 185-pound Witherspoon the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“He played out of his mind,” Bob Stelton said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “I maintain he is better at his position than anybody on the team. … The best player on this team, in my opinion now two years in a row, is Devon Witherspoon. He is unbelievable.”
Witherspoon’s big night began late in the first quarter on a halfback toss to Bears running back D’Andre Swift. Lined up in the slot, Witherspoon immediately diagnosed the play and shot into the backfield. With blazing speed, he raced past a block from former UW Huskies wide receiver Rome Odunze and took down Swift for a 7-yard loss.
Early in the second quarter, Witherspoon was again lined up in the slot when he sniffed out a swing pass to wide receiver DJ Moore. Witherspoon burst into the backfield, fought through a block from 211-pound wideout Keenan Allen and brought down Moore for a 3-yard loss.
Witherspoon’s most impressive play may have come in the third quarter. Once again lined up in the slot, Witherspoon initially began dropping into coverage before diagnosing a screen pass to Swift. After backpedaling a few steps, Witherspoon turned on the jets, closed the gap in stunning speed and delivered a hard hit that sent Swift to the ground for a 1-yard loss.
Witherspoon also was credited for a sack on the opening snap of the second half, when he chased quarterback Caleb Williams out of bounds for no gain.
“He does things that nobody else can do,” Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “He’s just all over the field. He goes under, he goes over the top, he goes through people. … And for a guy that’s just not that big, it’s amazing what he gets done out on the field.
“When I coached high school,” Wyman added, “I would always tell (my players), ‘It’s an emergency. When the ball is snapped, it’s an emergency to get to the ball as fast as you possibly can.’ And some guys will speak that, but they don’t actually do it. He does it. He does it on every play. He has one speed, and it’s full blast.”
Beyond the stat sheet
After a standout college career at Illinois, Witherspoon compiled a sensational rookie campaign last year. As an impact player all over the field, he recorded an interception, 16 pass breakups, three sacks, eight tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Witherspoon hasn’t quite filled up the stat sheet the same way this season. After Thursday night, he has seven pass breakups, one sack, six tackles for loss and a forced fumble through 16 games.
But even if the traditional stats haven’t been as eye-catching, Witherspoon has still been playing at a high level.
Advanced metrics bear that out: He ranks 17th out of 119 cornerback in Pro Football Focus grading, including third in run defense. He has eight total pressures, which is tied for fifth among cornerbacks. He has 35 run stops, the most among all corners.
So does the game tape.
“Spoon is one of the best corners in the game right now,” Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “To the untrained eye, if you’re not getting interceptions at the corner spot, then they see you as a failure. But when you see this dude, … he’s running through receivers and breaking up screens. He’s like a torpedo on the outside of the box at the nickel spot just waiting to get after the quarterback.
“He brings things to the team that don’t show up in the stat sheet.”
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard echoed that sentiment Friday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
“Pound for pound, Devon Witherspoon is the best player defensively in the NFL,” Huard said. “The dude is 180 pounds and he brings the hammer. … He doesn’t have the sack numbers. He doesn’t have the overwhelming stats. But he’s gonna make it to the Pro Bowl, because (he plays) with that ferocity.”
And that ferocity is infectious. Star defensive lineman Leonard Williams said as much Thursday night after recording two sacks, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits in another massive performance.
“Time and time again, he’s one of those players that just stands out effort wise (with) his energy,” Williams. “And today he was really showing up. He made some big TFLs and he just flies around. I feed off of his energy and I love it.”
Williams described it as energy. Huard termed it as ferocity. Wyman likened it to playing like it’s an emergency.
Macdonald called it “shocking effort.”
“We talk about shocking effort – he plays with shocking effort,” Macdonald said Friday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports. “When you turn on the tape, you are shocked when you watch Spoon play. If I’m on the field with him, how could I not step my game to the next level? How could I not play with that type of energy? It’s just impossible.
“When we talk about force multiplier, that’s what it means. You’re positively affecting everybody around you.”
-1734488162-q80.webp "Seahawks Cut CB Artie Burns. WHY???")
