The Seahawks selected Witherspoon in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, fifth overall.
After hitting a home run with Tariq Woolen in the fifth round last year, Seattle is going back to the well at cornerback but using a much higher pick to do so. Witherspoon was tremendous in coverage at Illinois, especially in press. He logged 17 pass breakups as a senior in 2022 to go with three interceptions en route to becoming a consensus All-American. Witherspoon, at 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds with 4.43 speed, isn't as toolsy as fellow rookie corner Christian Gonzalez, but Witherspoon's instincts and physicality were enough to make him the first corner off the board this year. He and Woolen could form a dominant cornerback pairing in the Pacific Northwest.