Five Reasons Why Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon Should Win Rookie of the Year

2. Starring at multiple positions, Witherspoon dominated equally from the boundary and the slot.

In the past, due to scheme and the difficulty of playing both spots against NFL competition, the Seahawks rarely asked their boundary corners to move with top receivers or slide into the slot. But Witherspoon isn't a typical cornerback and made such a transition look easy from snap to snap, stacking up favorably against his peers regardless of where he lined up in coverage. Out of 76 qualified cornerbacks with at least 415 coverage snaps, he finished in the top 20 in in completion percentage, yards allowed, yards per reception, forced incompletions, and pass breakups. Digging into specifics, he proved to be even better playing inside, ranking in the top five in passer rating, receptions allowed, and receiving yards allowed from slot while yielding only one touchdown.

3. Few players held their own in man and zone coverage to the level Witherspoon did in Seattle's scheme.

For most NFL cornerbacks, there's bound to be a discrepancy between production in man coverage versus zone coverage, as most players are equipped to succeed in one area better than the other based on size, athletic traits, and skill set. But Witherspoon exhibited his elite talent by playing at a high level manned up and dropping into zone as a rookie. In man coverage, he allowed only seven catches on 15 targets with three pass breakups, didn't surrender any touchdowns, and finished eighth in forced incompletions. He was nearly as impressive covering in zone concepts, ranking in the top 15 in receiving yards allowed and pass breakups while also finishing in the top 10 in forced incompletions, joining Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo as the only two players in the top 10 in that category both in zone and man.

4. On a bad Seahawks run defense, Witherspoon stood out as a rare bright spot in comparison to his rookie peers.

Getting gashed for most of the season, Seattle finished 31st overall in run defense, which played a key factor in the team missing the postseason. Witherspoon wasn't completely exempt from those struggles, as his penchant for going for big hits backfired at times, resulting in 11 missed tackles. But in reality, it's hard to imagine how much worse the Seahawks would have been defending the run without the rookie's contributions, as he finished in top 10 among cornerbacks in run stops, run stop percentage, and solo tackles. He also pitched in five tackles for loss, frequently flying into the backfield to bring down ball carriers like a linebacker or strong safety.

5. Efficiency-wise, Witherspoon's exploits rushing the passer as a blitzer were off the charts.

Being a defensive back, Witherspoon naturally won't get near as many opportunities to rush quarterbacks as Anderson, Carter, or Turner did in the trenches. But the dynamic rookie couldn't have possibly done more with his limited chances as a blitzer, turning 30 pass rushing snaps into a trio of sacks, 10 pressures, and three batted passes. From a comparative standpoint, Carter had 50 pressures and six sacks on 427 pass rushing reps and Anderson had 68 pressures and seven sacks on 454 pass rushing snaps. Comparing a corner who blitzes a handful of times to a full-time defensive lineman is comparing apples to oranges, but an argument can be made that no player outside of the front seven had a greater impact on his team's pass rush than Witherspoon this season.