Detroit Lions 'really liked' Devon Witherspoon, but no regrets on missing him in draft

The Detroit Lions were big fans of Devon Witherspoon in last year's draft and likely would have taken the now-Seattle Seahawks cornerback had he fallen to the sixth pick in the first round, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said Saturday the team has no regrets about the way the draft worked out.

"I would take Branch, LaPorta and Gibbs for that," Campbell said. "So, whatever that combination was, had it been him you’re losing out on one of those players. You don’t get the combination of three. But he’s a heck of a player. We liked him a lot.”

The Lions were targeting Witherspoon with the No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft, but pivoted after the Seahawks took the Illinois product at No. 5.

They traded down from No. 6 to No. 12 , where they took Jahmyr Gibbs and picked up an early second-round pick in the deal. At No. 18 — where they initially hoped to land Gibbs — the Lions took linebacker Jack Campbell, then they grabbed tight end Sam LaPorta (with the pick they acquired in the trade) and defensive back Brian Branch with their two second-round choices.

Gibbs, Campbell, LaPorta and Branch are all key starters for the Lions this season, with Gibbs and LaPorta playing featured roles on offense, Campbell manning the middle linebacker position and Branch playing safety after spending most of last season at slot cornerback.

Witherspoon finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting last season and is the leader of a Seattle secondary that ranks first in the NFL against the pass through three games.

"We really liked him a lot," Campbell said. "And I would say what you see on tape is exactly what we thought he would be. He is a competitive, feisty, tough, football-playing dude. Plays the corner, plays the nickel, active player. Ball guy."

Can't call 'em all

Terrion Arnold has been flagged a team-high five times through three games, with four penalties for pass interference. But Lions secondary coach Deshea Townsend said he's not worried about the rookie cornerback's penalty-prone ways.

"That’s the thing of the league," Townsend said. "If you’re a DB and if you’ve played, you’ve had at least one PI called on you. So that’s just the nature of the business and he just has to keep playing and that’s the one thing that we have to continue to do is not worry about the penalties and just go play.

"I always kind of joke around and tell them, 'They can’t call 60 PIs, so keep being close.' And that’s what we want. He’s been close in a lot of coverages and that’s the main thing."

Arnold has allowed 13 completions and one touchdown on 21 targets so far this season, according to Pro Football Reference , while drawing a slew of tough assignments on receivers such as Mike Evans, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Puka Nacua.

This week, he'll face another good receiving corps led by D.K. Metcalf.

"That’s why he’s here," Townsend said. "You saw that ability and that’s why we went and got him. He’s going to be a really good player in this league for a long time."

Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Preorder it now from Reedy Press .

Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions 'really liked' Devon Witherspoon, but no regrets on missing him in draft