Seattle followed up its excellent 2022 draft by taking a swing on a hard-hitting, highly touted cornerback Thursday night.
The Seahawks selected Illinois' Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. With its second first-round pick of the evening, Seattle selected Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20 overall.
Pound-for-pound one of the toughest players in the draft, Witherspoon is a competitor with the traits of a No. 1 CB.
In four seasons with the Illini, the 5-foot-11 corner generated 30 passes defended with five interceptions and 159 total tackles.
The 22-year-old improved each season in Champaign, culminating in a 2022 senior season in which he had 17 passes defended and three interceptions on his way to being named a consensus All-American and first-team All-Big Ten. He allowed a completion rate of 34.9% in 2022, per Pro Football Focus.
Witherspoon is a rangy defensive back with outstanding reading ability who can drive on the ball and is an aggressive tackler. He makes up for his lack of weight (181 pounds) and top-end speed with length and attitude on the field, but he's overaggressive at times, earning 11 penalties in his final two college seasons.
A versatile corner, Witherspoon projects as an NFL starter who owns the ball skills to be an immediate impact player.
He'll join a Seahawks defensive backfield that already includes a handful of studs in Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams and 2022 fifth-round pick Tariq Woolen, who tied for the most interceptions in the NFL as a rookie.
Seattle's choice of Witherspoon came as a bit of a surprise, considering most predicted general manager John Schneider would target edge rusher. Instead, the Seahawks are loading up on the back end.
