2023 Seattle Seahawks final 53-man roster breakdown and grades

Seattle Seahawks cornerback (5)

Riq Woolen, Michael Jackson, Tre Brown, Devon Witherspoon, Artie Burns

I realize that is only five cornerbacks for the Seahawks but this is a super weird position group. A player currently listed as a safety, Coby Bryant (I have Bryant listed with the safeties), could start in the slot in Week 1. Bryant was OK in 2022 - his rookie season - as a starter at nickel, but Seattle clearly thinks he can be replaced. In fact, while Witherspoon is expected to be an outside corner one day, Seattle thinks they can be more successful with Witherspoon in the slot to begin with.

The problem is that Witherspoon hasn't practiced much in the last several weeks and expecting him to be ready in Week 1 and lineup against Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp seems like a massive mistake. Kupp has proven himself to be among the best receivers in the NFL. Witherspoon proved himself in one year of college to be good. There is a big difference between college and the NFL, of course.

Riq Woolen was excellent in 2022, obviously, but he might not reach 6 interceptions again. He had 4 picks through Week 6 but then only had 2 more after that. That doesn't mean he stopped being good (though he wasn't good against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs), but that teams stopped throwing his way as much.

As for who starts opposite Woolen, there has been a battle between Mike Jackson and Tre Brown. Jackson is likely the starter due to his performance in 2022. One might wonder how quickly Seattle could replace him with Brown should Jackson start off poorly in the regular season. Burns is good depth.

Grade: B (potential to be anywhere from a D to an A+, though)