Ever since he was drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon has always impressed more with his intangibles than his statistics in the box score. The numbers sometimes pop as well, but Witherspoon might be the biggest "force multiplier," as Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald coined it, in the NFL.
Nothing's changed as Seattle began its 2025 organized team activities on May 27. As of Friday, they are now three sessions in. Witherspoon is unsurprisingly bringing the energy to the Seahawks' defense early on, per John Boyle of Seahawks.com. Witherspoon's trash-talking is already "in midseason form," Boyle wrote.
"He's one of one," safety Julian Love said of Witherspoon, per Boyle. "Some people are just born to compete in whatever they're doing, it can be in video games, it can be in ping pong, and for Spoon, it's not just a football thing, that's just who he is, 24-7. And that's what we expect from him, we look to him as that catalyst, that spark for us defensively."
Witherspoon still posts gaudy numbers. He finished with 95 total tackles, which was second in the league among cornerbacks behind only the Indianapolis Colts' Jaylon Jones. Witherspoon also played the third-most snaps of any cornerback and had the most stops (39), per Pro Football Focus.
The energy Witherspoon provides galvanizes the defense multiple times per game, as seen in his first two seasons with the Seahawks. Every time he makes a play, or is even in the vicinity of one, he's never quiet about it.
"It does bring a lot of intensity to the team," Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen added. "That's our guy, and we rely on his energy just as much as his play. Having him out there, having him being vocal during OTAs, it helps us. That's one of the guys we count on on defense, and we know he's going to be a great leader and a great communicator on our defense as well."
Witherspoon, now entering his third season, has emerged as a leader of the Seattle defense. He's also becoming one of the team's veterans now and will be pivotal in continuing to build Macdonald's defensive system.
