Devon Witherspoon named as AP Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist

Seattle’s rising star continues to get national recognition for his cornerback play.

The finalists for the Associated Press NFL awards have been announced. Unsurprisingly, only one Seattle Seahawks person is in any of these categories, and it’s none other than rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

Seattle’s top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is joined by Will Anderson of the Houston Texans, Jalen Carter of the Philadelphia Eagles, Kobie Turner of the Los Angeles Rams, and Joey Porter Jr of the Pittsburgh Steelers for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Last season, Seattle’s Riq Woolen was 3rd behind Sauce Gardner and Aidan Hutchinson. I wouldn’t expect Witherspoon to win over Anderson or Carter, but we’ll see how that goes!

Witherspoon was selected to the Pro Bowl, made the PFWA All-Rookie Team, and picked up a couple of AP All-Pro second-team votes. At his current trajectory, he may have many more accolades coming his way very soon.

There was no real argument for any Seahawks to be a finalist for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Assistant Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, or Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The winners will be announced during the NFL Honors show on Thursday, Feb. 8 live on CBS and NFL Network at 6 p.m. PT. Keep in mind these are all regular season awards, so the voting has already been cast.

Check out the full list of NFL Honors finalists here.