After Anticlimactic Combine, The Steelers Could Now Have A Shot At Top Defender Of The 2023 NFL Draft

Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft starting on April 27th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next up…

Steelers’ Draft Prospect, Devon Witherspoon (Cornerback), Illinois, Senior

OVERVIEW: The Steelers need help in the secondary; specifically at cornerback. That is in no way a secret and fans across the board agree on that sentiment. But with the struggles we’ve seen in the Steelers having to call the right name at the cornerback position in the draft, this has forced the team to explore veteran prospects first. This included the successful signing of Joe Haden in 2017, the less-than-ideal acquisition of Ahkello Witherspoon in 2021, and the promising signing of Levi Wallace in 2022. While we anxiously wait on the fate of Cam Sutton for 2023, the Steelers need young, top-tier talent to continue their construction of a strong cornerback group paired with Minkah Fitzpatrick on the backend. With a pair of selections in the first 32 picks of the draft, they’ll have two chances to land proverbial first-round talent. This is where they will find Devon Witherspoon.

PROS: Witherspoon’s ball skills fly off the stat sheet first. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), in the 2022 season, Witherspoon allowed a mere 34.9 completion percentage. In addition, he tallied three interceptions and 14 pass deflections in that same season. He has twitchy footwork to maintain his position on receivers and has a great route diagnosis instinct to get to the ball spot first. He’s able to knock the receivers’ hands at the point of the catch, which is where we saw a lot of those 14 pass deflections last year.

Witherspoon is a physical player who isn’t afraid of contact. Even though he lines up against outside receivers, he can crash on the line in run situations and stop the ball carrier. He only racked up a single sack in his college career, but he was incredibly effective on disrupting screen plays and short swing passes. He thrives more in a zone-based defensive scheme, which is what the Steelers run, as opposed to press-man. Between his willingness to do the dirty work along the line of scrimmage and maintaining his stickiness with receivers, Witherspoon brings that unique blend of physicality, quick feet, and finesse that NFL scouts dream of at the cornerback position.

CONS: With all of the hype surrounding Witherspoon leading into the combine, he didn’t necessarily live up to those expectations. From a measurements perspective, he came in a bit undersized than what scouts were hoping for at 5’11.5”, 181 pounds. His arm length of 31 ¼ inches came in a little shorter than what scouts look for in terms of top-ten talent. His translation of skills to match the NFL speed is also a question. Even though he’s effective at pass deflections and hitting the hands of the receivers, Witherspoon gets pretty handsy down the field and may be a defensive pass interference magnet as a young player. He'll need to show he can play within the NFL rulebook to take his game and value to another level.

Witherspoon left the combine with a lot of scouts left with more questions than answers. In college, he was a very aggressive player in relying on his instincts to make a break on a pass to make the play. However, this would lead to him biting on play-action passes or double moves by receivers on misdirection plays. Because he takes more time to find his man and get back into coverage, that short area recovery speed is a question. Witherspoon had to skip the workout sessions in Indianapolis due to a hamstring injury, which could pose a red flag in itself. But in terms of answering those lingering speed and agility questions, he’ll need to rely on an impressive Pro Day on March 10th to answer those. But if he can’t display the right level of times and results then, that could drop Witherspoon’s stock with his blank results page from the combine.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 1st Round

Even though he was held out of workouts at the combine, Witherspoon still has first-round talent. He received first-team Associate Press All-American honors in 2022 and was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year. He was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award last year and the numbers leading up to that are hard to discount. Even though he’ll likely start his career as a solid CB2 within an NFL secondary, that top-level talent is very much present in Witherspoon.

Even though he has first round talent, however, his measurements and hamstring are hurting his top-ten potential. With him coming into the combine a bit undersized and forced to miss workouts due to his hamstring, this may cause him to drop to the back half of the opening round. His Pro Day will be the true determining factor in placing him either inside or outside the first ten picks of the draft.

VERDICT: 

NFL Analyst Chad Reuter listed Witherspoon’s draft stock to have fallen after his anticlimactic combine performance. Even though his hamstring was considered “nothing serious”, scouts and coaches are going to take that into consideration when looking at their big boards. The Steelers may find themselves as a beneficiary of that. If Witherspoon somehow drops to the 17th overall pick, there is no reason why head coach Mike Tomlin shouldn’t be on the phone welcoming him to Pittsburgh. NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein listed Witherspoon as a comparison to the Steelers’ Wallace, which could prove to be some foreshadowing. Considering how well he operates within a zone-based defense, it is a match made in heaven for Witherspoon and the Steelers. Witherspoon is going to be a top-defender in the NFL and would be what the Steelers are looking for in a first draft pick.

Where do you see Witherspoon going in April?  Would you want to see him in the black and gold?  Let us know in the comments!

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