Devon Witherspoon can step into NFL spotlight along with Seahawks

RENTON — By accolades, Devon Witherspoon trails only Richard Sherman among cornerbacks in Seattle Seahawks history.

In three NFL seasons, Witherspoon has been named to three Pro Bowls, and on Saturday was named second-team All-Pro for the first time.

Only Sherman has more of either honor (four Pro Bowls and four total All-Pro honors, including three on the first team) among Seahawks cornerbacks. Ring of Honor member Dave Brown is the only other Seahawk cornerback to get All-Pro honors, earning a second-team nod in 1984.

By adulation, Sherman will be a tough act to catch.

Few Seahawks of any generation, cornerbacks or otherwise, inspired as much of a fevered following as Sherman, whose jerseys still dot Lumen Field on game day.

Few rose to the occasion as well as Sherman, whose tip that turned into the interception that beat the 49ers in the 2014 NFC title game may be the single-most important play in franchise history.

It hasn’t been Witherspoon’s fault that his moments on the big stage have been lacking so far.

But now comes the first playoff game of his career Saturday night against the same 49ers at Lumen Field and a chance to make the kind of signature play that can define a career and lodge himself into the collective heart of the fan base forever.

Not that Witherspoon hasn’t had his big-stage moments. There was a 97-yard pick-six against the Giants on Monday night as a rookie in 2023 that served as something of a coming-out party.

But in part because of the difference in role Witherspoon is asked to play versus what Sherman did, he hasn’t put up the same kind of raw numbers.

Sherman played solely outside corner, almost always on the left side, or defending the quarterback’s right side. That helped him compile an NFL-high 24 passes defensed in his second year in 2012 and an NFL-high eight interceptions in 2013.

Witherspoon plays outside corner in the base defense but typically moves inside to the slot when the Seahawks are in the nickel (meaning, five defensive backs on the field), their primary formation.

Of Witherspoon’s 710 defensive snaps this season, 344 have come playing inside, according to Pro Football Focus. That means he’s often asked to be a run defender.

That Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald asks Witherspoon to play two of the most vital positions on his defense speaks to his value.

So does his Pro Football Focus grade — he finished the season No. 1 of all cornerbacks, third in coverage and second in run defense.

“He’s probably the spark plug behind the whole thing, Macdonald said earlier this year of Witherspoon’s imprint on the defense, which led the NFL in fewest points allowed this season.

That might confuse a viewer watching the Seahawks for the first time who simply looks at a stat sheet and sees Witherspoon with one interception this season and seven passes defensed (that he played just 12 games this season is also a factor).

That’s what can happen when a receiver is well covered and the QB looks elsewhere, as began to happen to Sherman later in his career.

The outside-inside role Witherspoon plays also means his impact is sometimes subtler, such as when his blitz off the edge at Washington forced a hurried throw from quarterback Jayden Daniels that Ty Okada was able to leap and pick off, a play that became the defining moment of the Seahawks’ 38-14 win on Nov. 2.

“We got pressure on the QB, he chucked it up and just take advantage of the opportunity,” Okada said. “It was a great feeling.”

Witherspoon made a perfect read on a pass at Atlanta that he tipped that became an interception for Nick Emmanwori.

“It’s an every-down thing that you have to account for this guy,” Macdonald said.

Off the field, Witherspoon also doesn’t project the same persona as Sherman, who thrived in arriving as a fifth-round pick and proving the doubters wrong and using every opportunity in front of a mic to let everyone know. Never more so than after “The Tip” and his famous interview with reporter Erin Andrews.

By contrast, when Witherspoon was asked earlier this season about being named one of the NFL Network’s Top 100 players of 2025, he replied: “No, I didn’t see that. I appreciate it, though. I don’t really pay attention to the media like that.”

And as the fifth-overall pick in 2023, there weren’t a lot of initial doubters.

At the VMAC, Witherspoon is every bit the vocal presence Sherman was, keeping up a running banter with teammates in the locker room, and serving as a constant voice on the field exhorting and instructing his defensive teammates.

“Every play,” left guard Grey Zabel said of how often he hears Witherspoon from the other side. “I might not even see him, but you’re going to hear him in some aspect of it. It’s super fun because he brings the juice, the vibes to practice.”

Said safety Julian Love: “I mean, you take two steps that way (pointing to the locker room) you can hear him. You can hear him when he’s eating upstairs in the team room.”

“That’s just always been me,” Witherspoon said.

Love laughs at the contrast it presents with the more button-downed Macdonald.

“I don’t think there’s a person on the team he (Macdonald) loves more than Spoon and that’s like crazy because they are complete opposite ends of the spectrum,” Love said. “But he’s just himself no matter what.”

Emmanwori, whose locker is close to Witherspoon’s, clarified that all the chatter might not necessarily be what people would think.

“I don’t really think it’s him talking trash to the other players, trying to get in their heads,” he said. “It’s more like talking trash to hype himself up and get himself going. Just kind of like a fire starter to get in that mode.”

In quieter moments, Emmanwori says Witherspoon has been a constant voice of encouragement as he’s navigated his rookie year.

Emmanwori remembers an early practice when Witherspoon called out almost every play the offense ran.

“I realized he was a real student of the game,” Emmanwori said, something he’s tried to emulate.

The value of that preparation Emmanwori said he learned from Witherspoon is to “just trust what you see and go. … It’s just allowed me to go out there and play fast and make plays.”

Love cites Witherspoon’s influence as a key for Emmanwori’s quick ascension during his rookie season.

“I think the biggest thing for Nick, Nick’s success, has been seeing Spoon go to work each day,” Love said. “Spoon is loud. Spoon is himself unapologetically, but his motor is crazy. So to see that out of a guy that you look up to, I know it’s made Nick’s game develop. He has a talent. He is special. But the work has come from I think seeing Spoon.

The whole football world will have its eye on Spoon, playing in the kind of moments when names and reputations are made.

It was a time when Sherman and the Legion of Boom were often at their best. Now Witherspoon and a new crew of Seahawks get their chance.