Seahawks’ NFL rookie of the month Devon Witherspoon has 51 reasons to stay grounded
Devon Witherspoon has already been NFC player of the week.
Thursday, the league named him NFL defensive rookie of the month for October. He’s only the fourth Seahawk to win that award.
Witherspoon has excelled at cornerback. He’s excelled inside at nickel back against slot receivers. His hard hitting and big plays — such as his 97-yard interception return for a touchdown in his first game at nickel Oct. 2 at the New York Giants — have made the fifth pick in this year’s draft a soaring star already on a first-place team.
So how does the 22-year-old prodigy stay grounded?
By the 51 older Seahawks. They know better than to think anyone has “made it” two months into a career.
“My teammates, they are always keeping me with a level mind,” Witherspoon said Thursday, before the Seahawks (5-2) practiced again for their game at the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) Sunday.
“They always say, ‘We’ve got to go out there and just prove it again. Anyone can do it one time. So, how many times can you do it? How consistent can you be?’
“That right there leads me to continue to put my head down and just keep grindin’.”
That grind is paying off handsomely so far.
Witherspoon joined Seattle’s opposite starting cornerback Riq Woolen from last season as NFL rookies of the month. The other Seahawks defensive players to earn the honor: defensive tackle Rocky Bernard from Sept. 2002 and linebacker Lofa Tatupu from Dec. 2005.
Witherspoon’s the second favorite behind Philadelphia rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter to win NFL defensive rookie of year. According to BetMGM, the latest odds on Carter winning are -125. Witherspoon is at +135. That’s the closest they’ve been in MGM odds for the award this season.
WItherspoon said he didn’t brush off the player-of-the-month honor.
“It’s dope,” he said. “I celebrated with my teammates, myself and my family.
“But this is a good accomplishment. I’m just trying to continue to get (better) and just stack days.”
Hits like, well, Bobby Wagner
Witherspoon is already getting a reputation around the league for swagger — he routinely points and glares following his plays — and for his crunching tackles. His aggressiveness coming up hard against running plays is a large reason coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt moved Witherspoon inside to nickel starting in June minicamp — and then full time this month.
Witherspoon is 6 feet and 185 pounds — “175 pounds soaking wet,” Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs says. Yet he hits like he’s 6-4 and 250.
He’s hits like, well, Wagner.
Seattle’s middle linebacker is still talking about the hit Witherspoon put on Arizona wide receiver Rondale Moore following a catch in a game two weeks ago. Witherspoon came off his man outside, peeled back inside and sent both of Moore’s feet skyward with a shoulder blow.
In that Arizona game, he also had a sack (on one of the two times he blitzed) and an interception in the end zone. Both plays got negated by penalties on Seahawks teammates.
Last weekend in Seattle’s comeback win over Cleveland, Witherspoon allowed zero catches on four targets against him.
As sure as he’s going into the team’s Ring of Honor, Wagner is one of the veterans keeping Witherspoon level-headed amid his glowing start.
Yet Wagner is effusive in what’s his seen through seven games. The reputation Witherspoon had at the University of Illinois that made him the first cornerback taken in this year’s draft is proving true.
“It’s been impressive,” Wagner said. “You come in and everybody wonders if that’s going to translate into the next level, and you see it translating into the next level. He’s not afraid to make tackles. He’s not afraid to put his body in there.”
Thing is Wagner knows Witherspoon, like Woolen this time last year, doesn’t know what he doesn’t know about the NFL game.
“This is just the beginning,” Wagner said. “ I feel like he’s still learning and still growing. And I think those hits are going to be more violent and happen more often once he starts to figure everything out.”
Wagner was asked if he’s seen cornerbacks Witherspoon’s size play with his physicality.
“Not too many to be honest,” Wagner said. “He likes to hit. He likes to make tackles. He likes to make plays. He thrives on that. I really don’t know who to compare him to besides himself.
“It’s really cool to be around him, be around his energy. He’s similar to Jamal (Adams). Just very contagious, positive energy. When he makes that play, it ignites the whole crowd.”
Witherspoon is curious
Wagner, Adams and Diggs have said, multiple times, how they are impressed by how iniquistive Witherspoon is. He is the opposite of the pro sports adage that rookies should be seen and not heard.
Witherspoon constantly asks questions in meetings, of coaches, of teammates between plays and on the sideline between defensive series.
“I think a lot of it is care. He cares a lot,” Wagner said. “He wants to do the right things and he asks questions.
“I think a lot of times when you come in so young, you’re afraid to ask questions because you don’t want to sound dumb. He’s not afraid. He asks all the questions and it helps him understand and catch on things faster than most players because he’s not afraid of anything.”
WItherspoon’s been so good, Diggs’ mom is praising him.
“I’ll never forget, it might’ve been his second or third game here when he was playing nickel, and my mom called me after the game.” Diggs said. “And she was like, ‘He plays kind of like how you play.’ I was like, ‘I can see that,’ because I played nickel and she just puts two-and-two together.
“He says he’s 180, but he’s doing it at 175 pounds soaking wet. I think it’s impressive. I love it. It brings energy. It brings juice. It’s just a competition factor between me, him, and Mal (Adams), even (Julian) J-Love, and now Tre Brown wants to get into it.”
Diggs said of Witherspoon: “He thinks he’s the best and he wants to be the best. And, in his mind, he is the best.”
“The competitive nature, the juice, whatever he has, he has that ‘it’ factor. And it’s been dope for me to see it,” Diggs said.
“I’ve been excited about him since we drafted him. The sky is the limit for the kid.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 2:35 PM.
