NFL execs are high on Seahawks star Devon Witherspoon, but not high enough

Heading into the 2024 season the Seattle Seahawks have one of the better, younger rosters around the NFL. Whether they can finally live up to their potential and break out of the 9-8 funk they've been in the last two seasons remains to be seen. However, we do know there are some very special athletes on this team and expect a lot from them.

On offense their best player is still wide receiver DK Metcalf, even though he's not considered a top-10 talent at his position by league executives. On the other side of the ball the No. 1 talent is rising cornerback Devon Witherspoon out of Illinois, who hit the NFL landscape like a comet as a rookie. Heading into his second season as a pro, Witherspoon is already among the best players at his position, which is the most-difficult to play in the sport.

In a new poll of league coaches, scouts and executives, ESPN has Witherspoon ranked No. 9 in the league among cornerbacks. Here's what they're saying:

"Witherspoon wasted little time becoming a top player in the competitive NFC West. Seattle deployed him in a variety of ways, from instinctive cover man (16 pass deflections) to effective blitzer (3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss). 'Witherspoon is a baller,' an AFC scout said. 'He's the most physical corner in the NFL, and he's hyper competitive.' Witherspoon's play earned him a Pro Bowl nod and a fourth-place finish in the Defensive Rookie of the Year race."

While it's good to see Spoon at least make the cut, consider us a little annoyed at how low he is on the list. This is much better than PFF's inexplicable cornerback rankings earlier this offseason, which had 20 players ranked ahead of him. Still, to these only-slightly-biased eyes Witherspoon looked like the most ferocious and well-rounded defensive back in football last season aside from Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, a couple of poor games notwithstanding.

No DB looked more disruptive as a slot pass rusher, his tackling was solid for the vast majority of the season and his coverage was tight enough to allow just a 58.3% completion rate and an 87.9 passer rating. All this with a fiery and inspiring style of play that should set the tone for this defense moving forward.

With just a little more time to develop and get fully-acclimated to the NFL game, Witherspoon might soon be one of the best defenders in the league, period. We expect him to be in the Defensive Player of the Year race no later than 2025.