The Seahawks used the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and head coach Pete Carroll says Witherspoon is already proving that he is ready for the mental part of the pro game.
Witherspoon was slowed by a hamstring injury early in the offseason but was working with the starting defense once he got back to full speed. Carroll said that Witherspoon didn’t let the time off with the hamstring stop him from taking every mental rep.
“When we gave him the chance, he jumped right on it,” Carroll said, via ESPN. “He’s a really good football learner. He gets it, man. It makes sense to him, and he does things naturally really well, and that expedites the process.”
The Seahawks are counting on Witherspoon being able to start from Week One of his rookie year, and they think he’s going to be ready to do it -- both physically and mentally.