SEATTLE (AP) — New coach Mike Macdonald inherited a defense in Seattle with some issues to fix, while also having a wealth of talent at certain positions.
Cornerback may be the position where Macdonald has the most to work with. It’s a group that doesn’t lack for confidence.
There is some high-end talent at the position, led by Devon Witherspoon, who had a breakout season as a rookie, and Riq Woolen, who was third in defensive rookie of the year voting in 2022.
Seattle also has plenty of depth, and that could make for some difficult decisions for Macdonald and his staff when roster cuts are made later this month.
“Everybody is hungry. There’s a fresh start,” said cornerback Tre Brown, who’s entering his fourth season. “It’s a first impression for everybody, so everybody wants to go out there and show who, what they can do without having that label put on them or who they are. So everybody gets a fair chance.”
Woolen and Witherspoon should be starters and get the vast majority of the playing time in Macdonald’s system. Same for Brown, who emerged as a starter in 2023 after his first two seasons were cut short by injuries.
After that is where the depth starts to emerge. Michael Jackson started 17 games in 2022. Artie Burns has 39 career starts between Pittsburgh, Chicago and Seattle, and could play the nickel cornerback spot.
And, just for a couple more options for the future, Seattle nabbed a pair of cornerbacks from Auburn — D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett — in April’s draft.
“We have a lot of great competition in the corner room,” Macdonald said.
For the secondary to reach its potential, Seattle needs Woolen to rediscover the consistency he played with as a rookie and for Witherspoon to continue his progression.
Woolen was a revelation as a rookie after being a fifth-round pick in 2022. But his second season had its struggles. He finished with just two interceptions and was benched in one game.
“Honestly I had fun. It was part of the journey,” Woolen said of his 2023 season. “I’ve been through ups and downs. I’ve been to the Pro Bowl, I’ve been on the bench before. It was just all part of the journey to me. I felt like as a young player I had to go through that just because it shows me that there’s some places that I don’t want to be and there’s places where I do want to be.”
Witherspoon showed all the attributes that made him the fifth overall pick at various points of his rookie season. He has the speed to play the nickel spot and the size to play on the outside. And he’s not lacking for confidence, often the loudest and most brash of any player on the field during training camp.
Witherspoon is likely to be used at a variety of spots and thinks the variety of Seattle’s defensive scheme will be one of its strengths.
“You don’t know what we’re going to be running at the time,” Witherspoon said. “It might look like one thing and be another. Then it might look like something and actually be that, but you won’t actually know at the time. I think that’s one of the biggest things about it and it’s just very creative.”
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