NFL Draft Profile: Devon Witherspoon, Cornerback, Illinois Fighting Illini
2023 Grade 1st and 2022 Grade: 2nd Round Evaluation
Ric’s 2023 Evaluation: There are some minor concerns about Witherspoon’s size, but his elite agility, instincts and ability to consistently stay attached to wide receivers warrant top-10 consideration. Witherspoon played on both the boundary and field sides of the defense for Illinois. The dynamic cornerback takes snaps covering X, Y, and Z receivers from a combination of press coverage and off-man. The Fighting Illini trusted Witherspoon to handle these diverse assignments, often with little help. The fourth-year junior is a high-motor player who shows effort and leads by example in all areas. Witherspoon blocks for his teammates when they intercept passes and is quick to congratulate his fellow defenders when they make plays. He’s a high-energy talker who loves to remind wide receivers that they’re getting locked up. Witherspoon has a quick trigger and excellent closing speed on short routes and screens. He’s also willing to come downhill and stop the run. He actively fights through wide-receiver blocks and converts speed to power at the tackle point. Witherspoon has an excellent athletic profile. He possesses the agility, suddenness and twitch to mirror routes. He has quick feet and fluid hips, which allow him to adapt to routes and releases. Witherspoon stays low and patient in his backpedal and is careful not to declare his hips too early. The former three-sport athlete is not afraid to get physical with receivers. He squeezes outside releases along the sideline and throws sturdy jabs to stall receivers. Witherspoon’s track background shows on longer plays. He has the speed to prevent getting stacked and flies around unabated in the open field. Witherspoon has excellent anticipatory skills and reads and reacts to the quarterback’s eyes. He navigates trash to stay attached to his man on short crossing routes and high-points the ball to make plays at the catch point. Witherspoon’s block-shed technique is inconsistent, and he’d benefit from playing more under control as a tackler. He sometimes falls for outside-in route and release fakes that leave receivers open heading toward the middle of the field. Witherspoon has experience on the kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage and field-goal block units. He is in contention to be the number one cornerback off the board and blends and impressive combo of size, speed, physicality.
Background: NFL Combine invite. Measured 8.5-inch hand, 31-inch arm, 73.5-inch wingspan at the NFL Combine. Did not work out (injury). Had a personal pro day workout scheduled for April 5th. Repped by CAA.
Ric’s 2022 Evaluation:
Witherspoon plays on both the boundary and field sides of the defense for Illinois. The dynamic cornerback takes snaps covering X, Y, and Z receivers from a combination of press coverage and off-man. The Fighting Illini trust Witherspoon to handle these diverse assignments, often with little help. The fourth-year junior is a high motor player who shows effort and leads by example in all areas. Witherspoon blocks for his teammates when they intercept passes and is quick to congratulate his fellow defenders when they make plays. He’s a high-energy talker who loves to remind wide receivers that they’re getting locked up. Witherspoon has a quick trigger and excellent closing speed on short routes and screens. He’s also willing to come downhill and stop the run. He actively fights through wide receiver blocks and converts speed to power at the tackle point. Witherspoon has an excellent athletic profile. He possesses the agility, suddenness, and twitch to mirror routes. He has quick feet and fluid hips, which allow him to adapt to routes and releases. Witherspoon stays low and patient in his backpedal and is careful not to declare his hips too early. The former three-sport athlete is not afraid to get physical with receivers. He squeezes outside releases along the sideline and throws sturdy jabs to stall receivers. Witherspoon’s track background shows on longer plays. He has the speed to prevent getting stacked and flies around unabated in the open field. Witherspoon has excellent anticipatory skills and reads and reacts to the quarterback’s eyes. He navigates trash to stay attached to his man on short crossing routes and high points the ball to make plays at the catch point. His aggressiveness sometimes leads to penalties downfield (he committed five in 2021). Witherspoon should look to add some mass to compete with larger receivers and perform better against the run. Right now, some teams could ask him to play pure slot at the next level instead of outside corner. He appears to have good but not great arm length. Witherspoon’s block shed technique is inconsistent, and he’d benefit from playing more under control as a tackler. He sometimes falls for outside-in route and release fakes that leave receivers open heading toward the middle of the field. Witherspoon struggles the most at staying attached to receivers on curl and comeback routes. He should improve his ball skills to finish more plays with interceptions. Witherspoon will contribute on special teams immediately since he has experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He could play man coverage in the NFL, but letting him operate in zone will allow his instincts and physical traits to flourish in read-and-react situations.
Quotes:
“He’s always there. He’s scrappy. I think that’s a good word to describe him. If someone gets a step on him or beats him by a step, the play’s not over. Most corners if you beat them the play is over. But Spoon’s one of those guys where his effort is through the roof. His strain and finish are just unbelievable.” -- Illinois WR Casey Washington on CB Devon Witherspoon
“That dude, I couldn’t have a better player in the room. He studies the game the right way. He’s up here late at night watching film. He can dang near tell you whatever formation that team’s in, their favorite concepts and what they like to do. Then just off of where the ball is on the field, he knows what concepts, routes, and things that he knows what they are before they happen. Devon is one of those guys. He’s a big visualizer...He’s a student of the game. He’s really special.” -- Illinois defensive backs coach Aaron Henry on CB Devon Witherspoon
Background:
Witherspoon was a recruit from Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Fla. in the class of 2019. He did not receive a star or recruit ranking from 247Sports, Rivals, On3.com, or ESPN. Witherspoon didn’t play football until his junior season in high school. He joined Illinois during training camp after initially planning to attend Hutchinson Community College (Kan.). Witherspoon earned Pensacola News Journal All-Area First Team honors as a senior and was the 2018 Pensacola News Journal Defensive Player of the Year. That season, he tallied 74 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, nine passes defended, and seven interceptions. He also scored touchdowns on a fumble recovery and an interception. As a high school junior, Witherspoon produced 65 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, nine passes defended, and four interceptions. He also played basketball and ran track, helping three Pine Forest teams to district titles as a senior (including a district championship in football). Witherspoon was a standout high jumper and contributed to multiple championship relay teams, including a Florida Class 3A state runner-up in the 4x100-meter relay. For his efforts across multiple sports, the Florida native was named the 2018 Pensacola News Journal Male Athlete of the Year. Witherspoon was a 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by the media. He was born on Dec. 11, 2000.
Strengths
Allowed completion rate of just 34.9% in 2022, per PFF.
Impressive route recognition and trigger on the throw.
Eyes are probing from off coverages.
Well-balanced defending high/low route concepts from zone.
Instinctive with 14 pass breakups in 2022.
Takes ball-side angles to disrupt the catch point.
Zeroes in on receiver’s hands on deep throws.
Physical with a striker’s mentality in run support and as tackler versus the pass.
Weaknesses
Can be jab-stepped off-balance by release fakes.
Coverage is very handsy after the first five yards.
Sluggish to transition hips and match route breaks from his backpedal.
Top-end speed could be an issue at the next level.
Lacks juice to make up the distance when he gets behind.
Will bite hard on play-action and double moves.
