In 2023, when everyone around them (Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts) was selecting QBs in the draft, the Seattle Seahawks quietly picked Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick.
He has since blossomed into a true star. Meanwhile, those QBs have all faced questions. Bryce Young had a bad first year and a half. CJ Stroud regressed in year two, and Anthony Richardson looks like a genuine bust. Witherspoon, both by comparison and just in general, looks like a brilliant pick, someone who one insider believes is about to be an All-Pro.
According to Michael-Shawn Dugar, the player to watch at training camp this week and onward is Devon Witherspoon. The rising star has been a great player so far, but he is very much poised for greatness.
"The fifth pick in the 2023 draft, Witherspoon is one of Seattle’s best players, and he’s the only Seahawk to make the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons (he was on the original ballot both times). Witherspoon plays both outside cornerback spots and nickel, and the latter requires him to be a stout run defender in addition to myriad coverage responsibilities," Dugar said.
In the last 10 years, only one non-special teams player has made the first-team All-Pro, and that was Bobby Wagner. "With a high-energy play style that jumps off the screen, Witherspoon has the potential to break that streak in 2025," Dugar concluded.
He is one of the NFL's best lockdown cornerbacks, and that is a good recipe to get All-Pro recognition. Unfortunately, he has to be the best or second-best corner in a league that is stacked there with Sauce Gardner, Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain II, and Derek Stingley Jr, meaning Witherspoon's work is cut out for him.
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