Sanchez: The ‘unreal’ traits of Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon

Cornerback Devon Witherspoon has made quite an impact for the Seattle Seahawks.

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After being selected No. 5 overall in the 2023 draft, the Illinois product quickly established himself as a versatile playmaker and one of the team’s best players.

Things were a little quiet for Witherspoon early this season, but his presence has been felt immensely over the past two weeks in a pair of Seahawks victories.

That was particularly true this past Sunday during a game-changing play that keyed Seattle’s 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals and vaulted it into first place in the NFC West.

With the Cardinals trailing 7-3 and facing fourth-and-1 at Seattle’s 40-yard line in the third quarter, quarterback Kyler Murray used a play-action fake and rolled to his right. Witherspoon – who was crashing inside from the flat – flipped his hips and changed direction to flush the speedy Murray out wide and force him to throw on the run off his back foot. Murray’s pass went beyond his intended receiver into the hands of Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, who raced 69-yards for a touchdown as Witherspoon sprung the pick-six with a key block down the field on running back James Conner.

Devon Witherspoon: elite. pic.twitter.com/jWWXu9sIBY

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 25, 2024

It was a phenomenal effort by the second-year pro that caught the attention of many, including FOX color analyst and former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez, who was on the call last Sunday and will be again for Seattle’s next game at the New York Jets, shared some lofty praise for Witherspoon on Tuesday when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“That’s one of the best football players I’ve ever seen,” Sanchez said. “I mean, it’s not even close. This dude is a monster.”

Sanchez described Witherspoon’s instincts and physical traits as “unreal.”

“He has legit mirror-man qualities where he almost runs the route for the guys in the slot, which is really hard to do,” he said.

Sanchez recalled another play two weeks ago against the San Francisco 49ers where Witherspoon really impressed him. San Francisco motioned fullback and standout blocker Kyle Juszczyk out wide, Witherspoon followed and then fought through a block to come up and make the tackle on a run play.

“They motioned him almost to the sideline just to get Witherspoon as far away from the run as possible. Not only did he take on Juszczyk, he made the play,” Sanchez said. “He made the tackle on the edge because the ball got bounced exactly where they didn’t want it to go. He fit up on Juszczyk and made the tackle, long-armed him and kept his outside arm free. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ They literally tried to get him out by the Gatorade bottle, and he still makes the play. The dude is nasty, bro. He’s one of the best players.”

Sanchez marveled at the standout cornerback’s ability to play far bigger than his 6-foot, 185-pound frame and gave him glowing comparisons to two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“He’s got the Ronde Barber nickel ability when it comes to the run and instincts and playing tough and fitting his gap,” Sanchez said. “And then the dude covers like Darrell Green. Like, it’s ridiculous the way he can shadow and mirror receivers. I love watching him.”

Listen to the full conversation with Mark Sanchez at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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