Seahawks Pete Carroll on Devon Witherspoon seeing time in the slot: 'He's capable of playing in there'
By virtue of an injury to a key starter, a 2023 first-round draft selection is seeing more time in the slot.
The toe injury to the Seattle Seahawks' nickel defensive back Coby Bryant could be a blessing in disguise.
To make up for the injury, 2023 first-round draft selection, defensive back Devon Witherspoon, known for his play on the outside at Illinois, has been playing in the slot during the team's three-day mandatory mini-camp.
It is a change from what was expected for Witherspoon. But the repetitions playing in the slot position are something Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll believes the No. 5 overall selection is capable of doing.
“He's capable of playing in there," Carroll said to reporters. "Coby Bryant was banged up with a toe thing that he had to take care of and so it gave us the opportunity to take a look at Spoon (Devon Witherspoon) inside.
"So I talked to him about it way back when and he was all excited about it. He said, 'I can learn it all, I can get it'" and he's really positive about it. So when we gave him the chance, he jumped right on it. He is a really good football learner, he gets it, man. And it makes sense to him, and he does things naturally really well, and that expedites the process. And so we've seen… this will be really good film again today to check him out, but we've seen him look pretty much in charge of the position so we'll see how it goes.”
At Illinois, Witherspoon was what Carroll described as a "special cover guy." His quickness and flexibility on the field lent him to being a player that filled every spot for a defensive back on the field. Though he would often line up on the outside, he wasn't limited in the areas with which he would insert his impact.
That is something Carroll is attempting to channel in pushing Witherspoon back on the inside after Bryant's injury.
"We've seen him play on the slots, and it doesn't matter who he was playing, he covered everybody," Carroll opined. "His quickness and his instincts and all really lend to he could be an effective player there.”
With increased opportunities for Witherspoon playing in the slot, that also opens up the field for Julian Love, the two-year $12 million man the team brought in from the New York Giants.
With Witherspoon playing the nickel, Love could possibly be freed up to play in the box more, a place on the field he has extensively said he enjoys operating in. Love said as much on Wednesday in a report with The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar.
"I was a corner in college," he said. "And so I have that as a background. But I think just down in the box, around the action. I'm a really good tackler. I think that's my biggest asset as a player. Anywhere I can be close to the line of scrimmage, I'm excited for. But with that background and kind of playing all over, I'm comfortable in man-to-man situations, blitzing situations, and whatever they have me doing.”
And naturally, with Love playing in the box, that can offset Jamal Adams' recovery. The Seahawks are still uncertain when they will have their veteran back from a torn quadriceps he suffered against Denver in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.
As for Bryant's injury, Carroll explained that it was a sore toe that held him out of minicamp. The team's plan is to take it easy with him and "get him there" in terms of full health before training camp.
"He's got a sore toe," Carroll said. "He's got a sprained toe that hasn't been able to respond, sometimes it takes a long time so he's going to need the break to get back. It's not bad, it's not a bad injury, it's just bothering him enough where we're just aggravating it by putting him out there. So he did a lot of the walkthrough stuff early on and then we backed him off even a little bit more to make sure we get a lot of quiet time on it. We'll get there. We'll get there.”
In the NFL, one player's misfortune is another gain. And the Seahawks' first-round draft selection is benefitting by virtue of extra reps in the nickel thanks to Bryant's injury. However, time will only tell what truly comes from it.
Feature image via Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports.
