Football
Devon Witherspoon’s 2025 résumé reads like a top-three cornerback’s. He still might not be one.
That contradiction framed the latest Football Debate Club, where PFSN’s Ian Cummings and NFL analyst Josh Hite split on whether Witherspoon belongs in the NFL’s top tier at his position. Hite said yes. Cummings said no. Host Cam Mellor scored the round a 2-2 wash.
Football The Case for Devon Witherspoon as a Top-3 NFL Cornerback
Hite’s argument centered on usage. Witherspoon’s snap distribution suppresses his counting stats while his efficiency holds up.
“He may not be targeted as much as other corners because he does move from outside to nickel quite a bit, depending upon the scheme that Mike Macdonald wants him to use,” Hite said.
“But he has the most pass breakups over the last three seasons with 16. He has, in 2025, 48 tackles, a fumble return, half a sack, allows 65.8 percent completion percentage and 6.4 yards per target, which actually puts him in the realm of Cooper DeJean and Christian Gonzalez.”
Several of those numbers verify cleanly. Witherspoon finished the 2025 regular season with 72 total tackles (48 solo), 0.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery across 12 games. He earned second-team AP All-Pro honors and his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection, becoming the fifth Seahawks player to start his career with three straight Pro Bowls.
The pass-breakup figure Hite cited tracks closer to Witherspoon’s 2023 rookie season, when he ranked fifth in the NFL with 16 passes defensed. Across three seasons he’s posted 32 career pass breakups in 43 games.
The film and the All-Pro voters back the elite designation. The volume just doesn’t always show up on Sunday box scores.
Football What Keeps Witherspoon Outside the Top Three
Cummings’ counter wasn’t about the tape. It was about who else is on the list.
“You just look at the names that he’s competing with,” Cummings said. “Patrick [Surtain II], Derek Stingley Jr., Christian Gonzalez, [Sauce] Gardner when he’s healthy, and then other rising stars like Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Joey Porter Jr., DJ Turner. I think it’s an uphill battle. I think he would maybe challenge for top 10. He’s so versatile and dynamic that he’s valuable either way, but I think he still has work to do before he’s a top-three CB.”
Take a Quick Break. Run a Mock Draft!
Before you keep reading, jump into the shoes of the GM of your favorite team.
Cummings flagged a specific concern in Witherspoon’s coverage profile.
“His PFSN CB Impact score of 76.2 was just 48th in the league among qualifying CBs,” Cummings said. “He allowed a 90.7 coverage rating as well. The aggression, I think, is a double-edged sword at times on his film where he can give up big plays.”
That’s the bear case in shorthand. Witherspoon’s snap distribution between boundary and nickel makes him versatile and harder to scheme against, but the same usage means quarterbacks tend to look elsewhere first. The corners listed ahead in Cummings’ tier get the marquee-receiver matchups week to week, and the highlight plays that drive top-three conversations.
Witherspoon’s 2026 case will track whatever happens in those weeks. Macdonald has used him as an outside corner, slot defender and box blitzer across three seasons. If the next step is consistent ball production against the league’s top receivers, the top-three argument closes itself. The film says he’s in the room. The names ahead are the ones standing in the door.
Read More Ryan Gosling