Seahawks Preview: Seattle has potential star duo at cornerback

Sep 5, 2024, 2:38 PM | Updated: Sep 7, 2024, 4:36 pm

Seattle Seahawks Devon Witherspoon Riq Woolen 2023...

Riq Woolen (left) and Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks celebrate during a 2023 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

BY CAMERON VAN TIL

Seattle Sports

Every day between now and the Sept. 8 season opener, we at Seattle Sports are previewing each of the Seattle Seahawks’ 11 position groups. Today, we take a look at the cornerbacks.

What makes Seahawks under-the-radar candidates for big season

Links to our other position group previews will be included here as they are posted: Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, safety and special teams.

Roster breakdown

Projected starters: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown

Projected backups: Artie Burns, Nehemiah Pritchett, Dee Williams

NOTES: The Seahawks are expected to play a heavy dose of nickel defense, which is why three cornerbacks are listed as starters. Burns is currently on the practice squad, but he’s expected to be elevated to the active roster for Sunday’s season opener, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Offseason summary

Who’s in: Seattle drafted Nehemiah Pritchett in the fifth round out of Auburn and signed Dee Williams as an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee in May.

Who’s out: Seattle traded sixth-year reserve Michael Jackson to the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 22 in exchange for rookie seventh-round linebacker Michael Barrett.

2024 outlook

The Seahawks have two of the league’s most talented young cornerbacks in Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, who both possess star potential with their unique skill sets. Witherspoon has an impressive level of versatility that allows him to move around and make plays all over the field at outside corner, the nickel corner spot and around the line of scrimmage. The 6-foot-4 Woolen has a rare combination of length and speed that enables him to lock down opposing wideouts on the outside. Both of them earned Pro Bowl nods as rookies – Witherspoon in 2023 and Woolen in 2022. If Witherspoon can build on his strong rookie campaign and Woolen can return to his 2022 level of play after a slight step back last year, they could form one of the best cornerback duos in the league.

The Seahawks are expected to play a heavy dose of nickel in new head coach Mike Macdonald’s cutting-edge defense, which means they will have three cornerbacks on the field for much of the time. In those instances, Witherspoon will typically slide inside to the nickel spot, while Woolen and Tre Brown will man the two outside corner positions. Ninth-year veteran Artie Burns is currently on the practice squad, but is expected to be elevated to serve as the No. 4 cornerback. The position group gets a little thin after that, with rookie fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett at No. 5 on the depth chart and undrafted rookie Dee Williams serving primarily as a kick and punt return specialist.

Devon Witherspoon | 6-0, 185 | Age: 23 | 2nd year

2023 stats: 1 interception, 16 pass breakups, 3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble (14 games)

Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s draft, is coming off a sensational rookie campaign. Splitting time between outside cornerback and the nickel corner spot, the Illinois product filled up the stat sheet and earned a Pro Bowl nod while showcasing his wide-ranging skill set all over the field. He tied for fifth in the NFL with 16 pass breakups. He posted three sacks, which was tied for the most among all cornerbacks in the league. He recorded eight tackles for loss, tied for second among cornerbacks. And he finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest-graded cornerback. As great as his rookie season was, Witherspoon could be primed for an even better campaign this year, given what a perfect match his unique versatility and sharp football IQ appear to be for Macdonald’s scheme. Witherspoon is expected to continue playing a heavy dose of snaps at nickel, which should allow him to unleash his playmaking ability both in coverage and around the line of scrimmage.

Riq Woolen | 6-4, 210 | Age: 25 | 3rd year

2023 stats: 2 interceptions, 11 pass breakups, 1 tackle for loss (16 games)

As a fifth-round pick out of Texas-San Antonio in 2022, Woolen burst onto the scene with a spectacular rookie campaign. With a rare combination of speed, length and athleticism, the 6-foot-4 Woolen tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions that season and finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. But after suffering an offseason knee injury in 2023, Woolen experienced a bit of a sophomore setback last year that included him being benched for a late-season game. The biggest issue was his tackling, as he finished with a 20% missed tackle rate and a dismal 37.3 run defense grade, according to PFF. However, Woolen’s coverage remained strong last year, as he ranked 26th out of 126 qualified cornerbacks in PFF’s coverage grade. And after drawing strong reviews for his performance in training camp and the mid-August joint practices against the Tennessee Titans, Woolen looks poised for a bounceback season.

Tre Brown | 5-10, 185 | Age: 26 | 4th year

2023 stats: 2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles (15 games)

As the team’s No. 3 cornerback, Brown is expected to fill the outside corner spot opposite of Woolen when Witherspoon slides inside to nickel. After being drafted out of Oklahoma as a fourth-round pick in 2021, Brown’s first two seasons were disrupted by injuries, limiting him to just 11 total games. He stayed healthy last year and had a solid season, making seven starts and totaling two interceptions, six pass breakups, a sack, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Brown was middle of the pack in overall PFF grading, but excelled with an NFL-best 88.5 PFF grade when lining up in press coverage. In 145 press-coverage snaps, he was targeted just 22 times and held opposing quarterbacks to a 59.1% completion rate.

Artie Burns | 6-0, 187 | Age: 29 | 9th year

2023 stats: 2 pass breakups, 2 tackles for loss (14 games)

Burns is expected to be the team’s No. 4 cornerback after essentially holding that role during the preseason. The ninth-year veteran was released as part of Seattle’s initial 53-man roster cutdown last Tuesday, but was re-signed to the practice squad the following day and is expected to be elevated to the active roster for Sunday’s season opener, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The vast majority of Burns’ career snaps have come at outside corner, but he logged 33 of his 43 snaps this preseason at the nickel spot, according to PFF. He brings a veteran presence to a young cornerback room, having made 39 career starts over his eight NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears and Seahawks.

Nehemiah Pritchett | 6-0, 188 | Age: 23 | 1st year

Pritchett, a fifth-round pick out of Auburn, totaled three interceptions and 26 pass breakups while starting 40 games for the Tigers over his five-year college career. He was one of the fastest players in this year’s draft class, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.36 seconds that ranked eighth among all players at the NFL combine. Pritchett had a solid preseason, allowing just nine catches for 48 yards on 15 targets, according to PFF.

Dee Williams | 5-10, 190 | Age: 24 | 1st year

Williams, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, provides most of his value in the return game. He currently is listed as the No. 1 punt returner and No. 2 kick returner on Seattle’s public depth chart. At Tennessee, Williams averaged a school-record 15.4 yards per punt return and 21.1 yards per kickoff return. He returned four kickoffs for 123 yards this preseason, including a long of 41 yards. He also returned three punts for 19 yards. After playing both wide receiver and cornerback in college, he began training camp at receiver before switching to the defensive side.